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Michael A. Gerber has been appointed acting president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., succeeding Henry D. Edelman. Mr. Gerber will continue to serve as CEO of Farm Credit of Western New York, an association in the Farm Credit System. In conjunction with Mr. Gerber's appointment, the board of Farmer Mac has formed an Executive Committee of the Board consisting of Mr. Gerber; Lowell L. Junkins, acting chairman of the board; and Dennis A. Everson, president of the Agri-business Division of First Dakota National Bank. Farmer Mac said the committee will work closely with Mr. Gerber and others at the government-sponsored enterprise regarding the company's operations, capital structure, and the search for a permanent CEO. The GSE can be found online at http://www.farmermac.com.

Two mortgage industry veterans from The Murrayhill Co., a 1990s-era third-party credit risk management firm, have reunited to form a new due-diligence venture supportive of whole loan trading and bond-buying decisions. Murrayhill founder Sue Allon will serve as chief executive officer of Allon Financial, the new Denver-based venture. Daniel Gallery has been named the new company's president. Allon Financial also has acquired Edison Mortgage Decisioning Solutions, a due-diligence and data/analytics reporting company, including the mortgage analysts from EMDS's staff and EMDS's proprietary due-diligence technology.

Amy Brandt, who was the chief executive officer of WMC Mortgage Co. during that alternative-A lender's salad days, has returned to the industry by buying two servicers and an Internet originator. Vantium Capital Inc., her private-equity firm, was planning to announce that it has acquired the assets of Strategic Recovery Group LLC, a Plano, Texas-based company that collects on defaulted and charged-off debts; its Acqura Loan Services LLC, which manages subprime portfolios; and Strategic Recovery's online-only lending business, which uses the brand name Go Financial Solutions. Vantium, a New York company, would not make executives available for interviews. In a press release, Ms. Brandt said, "We will use these companies as a platform to develop, or acquire, new businesses that will serve the financial and investment markets." The firm did not say how much it paid for any of the assets. It has financial backing from Leon Black's Apollo Global Management LLC, the New York private-equity firm that sold WMC Mortgage to General Electric Co. in 2004. Acqura is to service assets bought by a Vantium fund managed by Michael Commaroto, the former head of private-label mortgage-backed securities at Deutsche Bank AG, Vantium said.

Bank of America late Monday fired Drew Gissinger, a top production executive at Countrywide Home Loans who was in charge of retail, wholesale, and correspondent lending, according to company officials. Also let go were: Brian Hale, president of retail; Charlie Rogers, managing director of Countrywide's nationwide retail network; and Tom Hunt, managing director of the western U.S. retail branch network. Mr. Gissinger once carried the title of president and chief operating officer of Countrywide Home Loans. Meanwhile, BoA named Craig Buffie the top executive in charge of sales and fulfillment, overseeing 14,000 employees in the mortgage group. BoA bought Countrywide on July 1.

Daniel Farr has been named chief financial officer of CBRE Realty Finance Inc., Hartford, Conn. Mr. Farr, currently manager of financial planning and analysis at the company, will succeed Michael A. Angerthal, who resigned to become CFO of Phoenix Investment Partners. Mr. Farr, 34, was previously employed by General Electric Capital Corp. and Deloitte & Touche LLP. CBRE Realty Finance also announced the appointment of Ryan Murray as chief accounting officer. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.cbrerealtyfinance.com.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has appointed John A. Koskinen the new chairman of Freddie Mac and Philip Laskawy the chairman of Fannie Mae. "Good corporate governance at the enterprises is especially important right now, and I appreciate the willingness of both of these men to provide board leadership during these challenging times," FHFA Director James Lockhart said. The GSE regulator dismissed the chairmen and boards of directors of Fannie and Freddie when the government-sponsored enterprises were placed in conservatorship Sept. 7. Mr. Koskinen was president of the Palmieri Co., which specialized in restructuring troubled companies and provided management services for the Resolution Trust Corp. He also served at the Office of Management and Budget as deputy director. Mr. Laskawy was chairman and chief executive of Ernst & Young until he retired in 2001. "Both of these individuals have the types of skills and experience needed to ensure a healthy financial future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Mr. Lockhart said.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has promoted Francis Creighton to be the trade group's chief lobbyist. He replaces Erick Gustafson, who is leaving the MBA to head the government relations department of a multinational company. The new vice president and chief lobbyist will be responsible for leading the federal and state legislative activities of the association, according to MBA senior vice president Steve O'Connor. "His background and leadership skills are an ideal fit for managing the day-to-day responsibilities of our legislative and political teams," Mr. O'Connor said. On Capitol Hill, Mr. Creighton previously worked for Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., and the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.

Zack Boyers has been named chairman and chief executive officer of St. Louis-based U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp., an investor in affordable housing developments. Mr. Boyers, who has 14 years of tax credit investment and banking experience, will be responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership to USBCDC's community development team. He started his banking career with Mark Twain Bank, now part of U.S. Bank, and later took a position as a specialist on affordable housing and historic tax credits with the organization in 1998. Since 2003, Mr. Boyers has served in a senior management role with the Historic and New Markets Tax Credit Investments product division. USBCDC is a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, which can be found on the Web at http://www.usbank.com.

James J. LeKachman has been named executive vice president of National City Corp., Cleveland, with responsibility for liquidating assets remaining from mortgage-related and other businesses exited by National City. Mr. LeKachman was most recently global risk analytics leader at GE Money, and he was previously employed by Bank One Card Services, Sapient Corp., and American Management Systems, among other companies. National City announced in January that it would exit all "broker-based" mortgage lending and shut down its wholesale unit. The company said its $20 billion in liquidating portfolios include First Franklin-linked subprime loans, broker-originated National Home Equity portfolios, construction loans formerly originated by National City Mortgage, and mortgages related to other discontinued origination channels, as well as indirect automotive and recreation finance assets. The company can be found online at http://www.nationalcity.com.

Kerry Killinger, who built Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, into the nation's largest thrift and one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, has been removed as chief executive officer of the company. The new CEO is Alan H. Fishman, formerly president and chief operating officer of Sovereign Bank, Philadelphia, and before that, president and CEO of Independence Community Bank, Brooklyn, N.Y., which is now part of Sovereign. WaMu has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Office of Thrift Supervision covering several areas of risk management, including its Bank Secrecy Act compliance program. WaMu will also provide the OTS with an updated, multiyear business plan and forecasts for its earnings, asset quality, capital, and business segment performance. However, WaMu said it is not being required to raise capital. Mr. Killinger was removed as WaMu's chairman in June and replaced by Stephen E. Frank. WaMu was the nation's fifth-largest mortgage servicer at the end of the second quarter.