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Real estate industry veteran Robert Hellman has been named managing director of real estate at David Landau & Associates, a consulting firm based in Fairfield, N.J. Mr. Hellman was most recently managing director with The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, a real estate capital advisory firm. He was previously a principal with Newmark Capital Group, where his responsibilities included investment sales, restructuring, and M&A services. Before joining Newmark, Mr. Hellman spent 16 years at Lehman Brothers, where he served as president or chief executive officer for several public real estate funds.

R&G Financial Corp., a bank holding company based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has announced the resignation of Andres I. Perez, executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Aug. 1. Melba Acosta, R&G Financial's executive vice president for corporate risk management, will act as interim CFO while the company undertakes a search for a new one. Ms. Acosta will also continue in her current position, which she has held since 2006. She was previously senior vice president and chief administrative officer of the company from 2004 to 2005. Before joining R&G Financial, Ms. Acosta served from 2001 to 2004 as executive director and chief information officer at the Office of Management and Budget of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.rgonline.com.

Advantus Capital Management, St. Paul, Minn., has announced the launch of a high-yield mortgage investment strategy and the hiring of Dean Di Bias as the portfolio manager to oversee it. Mr. Di Bias was most recently with GMAC-RFC in Bloomington, Minn., where he was managing director and senior vice president of credit portfolio management. "The timing to enter this market is excellent because spreads have widened substantially on residential and commercial mortgage securities rated AAA to BB-minus," said Chris Sebald, executive vice president and chief investment officer at Advantus. "Yield spreads on many mortgage securities are very wide, creating substantial value." Advantus said the securitization markets have been so damaged by fallout from the housing downturn that the company believes premiums to invest in the sector "will remain attractive for some time to come." Advantus can be found online at http://www.advantuscapital.com.

Justin Ailes has been named director of government affairs at the American Land Title Association. Mr. Ailes will focus on enhancing the association's partnership with state land title associations, serve as liaison between the title industry and state government, and assist ALTA's senior management at the federal level. Before joining ALTA, Mr. Ailes was deputy federal representative for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. He formerly served as a staff member for U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., and legislative assistant in the Indiana State Senate.

Ernst & Young has announced that 30-year real estate industry veteran Howard Roth has been named E&Y's global and Americas director of real estate. Mr. Roth, who previously headed the Northeast real estate practice of Ernst & Young US, will coordinate a network of 5,000 real estate professionals around the world from the organization's Global Real Estate Center offices in New York. He replaces Dale Anne Reiss, who retired on June 30. Mr. Roth said the Global Real Estate Center will focus on worldwide infrastructure development and privatization, sustainability and responsible property investing, and the credit slowdown, among other things. Ernst & Young can be found on the Web at http://www.ey.com.

Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group Inc., Philadelphia, has announced the resignation of its president, David Applegate, and several other changes at the top of the organization. Mr. Applegate will remain with Radian as a consultant for the foreseeable future. Stepping in as president is Teresa Bryce, who had been Radian Group's executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief risk officer. Paul Bognanno has been promoted from vice chairman of Radian Guaranty to chairman. Jeff Cashmer, senior vice president of mortgage insurance sales, is the new executive vice president and chief operating officer of Radian Guaranty, and Ted Hoffman, currently senior vice president and assistant general counsel will become Radian Group's general counsel and corporate secretary. Ms. Bryce and Mr. Hoffman report to S.A. Ibrahim, Radian Group's president and chief executive, while Mr. Bognanno and Mr. Cashmer report to Ms. Bryce. Ms. Bryce's priorities will include returning the mortgage insurance subsidiary to the AA level, and she has "extensive experience working with the GSEs, which will continue to be one of our top priorities," Mr. Ibrahim said.

Citigroup on Tuesday named Sanjiv Das CEO of its residential lending division, CitiMortgage of O'Fallon, Mo., the nation's fourth largest originator. He replaces Bill Beckmann who stepped down in June to spend more time with his family. Mr. Das returns to Citigroup after holding executive positions at Morgan Stanley and Bank One. In the 1990s, he worked for Citigroup in a number of positions, including chief of its global mortgage products group.

Downey Financial Corp. - which has seen its non-performing assets rise in recent months - said it has "terminated" Frederic R. McGill as president of the holding company and its thrift affiliate, Downey Savings and Loan Association. No reason was given for his departure. Based in Newport Beach, Downey's NPAs (as a percentage of total assets) totaled 14.3% in May compared to 13.2% in April and 1.3% a year earlier. In connection with his dismissal the S&L will make a $900,000 lump sum payment to him. According to Downey, he has agreed "not to solicit any employees, consultants, customers or suppliers of the bank for a period of one year following termination of his employment." Among residential lenders Downey ranks 39th nationwide, according to the Quarterly Data Report.

Fred Melgaard has been named executive vice president of DRI Management Systems, a provider of mortgage default management technology based in Newport Beach, Calif. His primary responsibilities include managing major client relationships, customer relations, sales, and marketing. DRI said Mr. Melgaard is a 19-year industry veteran who joined the company from Harland Financial Solutions, where he has served in various capacities since 1999, including vice president of servicing products and customer experience. He previously spent six years in senior management positions at several technology firms, including MaestroSoft, where he was president and chief executive officer. DRI can be found online at http://www.dridefault.com.

The Senate has confirmed Joseph Murin to be the new president of Ginnie Mae and Elizabeth Duke to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board. Mr. Murin was the owner and managing partner of Mortgage Settlement Network from 2004 through August 2007. The Pittsburgh-based company provides title, appraisal, and closing services. President Bush nominated the mortgage industry veteran to the Ginnie post back in October. The Senate also confirmed Ms. Duke, a Virginia community banker, so the Federal Reserve Board would continue to have five voting members once Fed governor Frederic Mishkin steps down on Aug. 31. The seven-member board currently has two vacancies. "In confirming Elizabeth Duke to a term through 2012, we are ensuring the Fed can function during these difficult economic times," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.