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Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs has been named as the new non-executive chairman of GMAC Financial Services, Detroit. Mr. Hobbs is currently an advisor to One Equity Partners LLC, which manages investments and commitments for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in direct private equity transactions. Previously, he was the chief executive of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. During his career, he also held the position of chairman at UBS AG's Warburg Dillon Read unit. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. Besides Mr. Hobbs, Michael A. Carpenter and Mayree C. Clark have been appointed to the GMAC board. Mr. Carpenter is chairman of Southgate Alternative Investments, while Ms. Clark is a member of the investment committee for Aetos Capital Asia, which manages the firm's $6 billion in investments in Japanese and Chinese real estate. Other members of the reconstituted board at GMAC are its CEO Alvaro G. de Molina, Cerberus appointee Stephen Feinberg, Robert T. Blakely and Kim S. Fennebresque, both of whom are appointees by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Erika Poethig has been named deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research. Ms. Poethig currently serves as the associate director for housing in the program on human and community development at the John D. and Catherine T. Mac Arthur Foundation, where she focuses on regional policy and practice, housing policy and research, and on the $150 million special initiative for the preservation of affordable housing. Prior to her current position, she was the assistant commissioner for policy resource and program development at the City of Chicago's Department of Housing.

Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman L. William Seidman, who also headed the thrift bailout agency during that industry's darkest days, passed away on May 13. He was 88. During his years of public service he worked in the Ford White House as the president's assistant for economic affairs. From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Seidman served as the 14th chairman of the FDIC. Under President George H.W. Bush, Mr. Seidman was tapped to head up the newly created Resolution Trust Corp., and eventually sued the president's son, Neil Bush, for his alleged role in the collapse of Silverado Savings of Colorado. (The younger Mr. Bush eventually settled the case out of court.) According to The American Banker, Mr. Seidman was lionized for the key role he played in cleaning up the S&L industry. The newspaper noted that he was "a constant voice on regulatory matters long after his retirement."

Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman L. William Seidman, who also headed the thrift bailout agency during that industry's darkest days, died Wednesday. He was 88. During his years of public service he worked in the Ford White House as the president's assistant for economic affairs. From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Seidman served as the 14th chairman of the FDIC. Under President George H.W. Bush, Mr. Seidman was tapped to head up the newly created Resolution Trust Corp., and eventually sued the president's son, Neil Bush, for his alleged role in the collapse of Silverado Savings of Colorado. (The younger Mr. Bush eventually settled the case out of court.) According to The American Banker, Mr. Seidman was lionized for the key role he played in cleaning up the S&L industry. The newspaper noted that he was "a constant voice on regulatory matters long after his retirement."

Jefferies Group of New York has hired Andrew Peisch as co-head of mortgage- and asset-backed securities banking and origination. Up until recently Mr. Peisch was head of structured credit products banking and origination for the Americas at Deutsche Bank.

The Senate has confirmed Ron Sims to be the deputy secretary and second in command at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Sims is the former executive of King County, Washington, and has plenty of experience in urban affairs. Meanwhile, the HUD secretary continues to support David Stevens to be the new Federal Housing Administration commissioner. But the Senate Banking Committee is holding up his confirmation due to a RESPA lawsuit filed against his former employer -- the real estate brokerage firm Long and Foster. Stevens' supporters are hoping he will be confirmed before the Senate adjourns for the Memorial Day recess.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has placed on hold on the President's nominee David Stevens to be the new Federal Housing Administration commissioner as the result of a lawsuit against his former employer Long and Foster. The Senate Banking Committee approved four other Department of Housing and Urban Development nominees on Tuesday (April 28) and cleared the way for their confirmation by the full Senate. However, committee chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., did not seek a vote on Mr. Steven's nomination. "Sen. Shelby agreed with chairman Dodd that this matter needs to be thoroughly examined before moving forward with a committee vote on Mr. Stevens' nomination," said a spokesman for Sen. Shelby. The class action lawsuit is understood to involve possible RESPA violations by Long and Foster, which is the largest privately owned real estate brokerage firm. Meanwhile, the committee approved the following HUD nominees: Ronald Sims to be deputy secretary, Helen R. Kanovsky to be general counsel, Peter Kovar to be assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs, and John D. Trasvina, to be assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has placed on hold on the President's nominee David Stevens to be the new Federal Housing Administration commissioner as the result of lawsuit against his former employer Long and Foster. The Senate Banking Committee approved four other Department of Housing and Urban Development nominees on Tuesday (April 28) and cleared the way for their confirmation by the full Senate. However, committee chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., did not seek a vote on Mr. Steven's nomination. "Sen. Shelby agreed with chairman Dodd that this matter needs to be thoroughly examined before moving forward with a committee vote on Mr. Stevens' nomination," said a spokesman for Sen. Shelby. The class action lawsuit is understood to involve possible RESPA violations by Long and Foster, which is the largest privately owned real estate brokerage firm. Meanwhile, the committee approved the following HUD nominees: Ronald Sims to be deputy secretary, Helen R. Kanovsky to be general counsel, Peter Kovar to be assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs, and John D. Trasvina, to be assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity.

Former chief executive David Moffett is returning to Freddie Mac to run the finance division in the wake of the apparent suicide of the company's acting chief financial officer David Kellermann.Freddie interim chief executive John Koskinen welcomed Mr. Moffett's offer to temporarily return as a consultant while Freddie searches for a permanent CFO. "He knows the company well from his time as the chief executive, and has built an impressive career in finance and accounting...with other leading public companies," Mr. Koskinen said.

Fannie Mae's new chief executive Michael Williams has recruited three bankers from outside the company to serve as his executive vice presidents in key posts. Timothy Mayopoulos from Bank of America will serve as EVP, general counsel and corporate secretary. Edward G. Watson from Citicorp will be Fannie's new EVP for operations and technology. And Kenneth J. Phelan from Wachovia Corp. will be EVP for risk management.