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Ken Thompson, who was removed from his position as Wachovia Corp.'s chairman in May, is now out as chief executive of the corporation as well. Lanty Smith, who replaced Mr. Thompson as chairman and will now be the interim chief executive officer as well, said in a statement that "no single precipitating event" caused the decision, but that "a series of previously disclosed disappointments and setbacks" have hurt the company and its performance. In the first quarter, Wachovia lost $350 million. A good deal of its problems stemmed from its May 2006 purchase of Golden West, a thrift holding company known for originating payment-option adjustable-rate mortgage loans. Wachovia boosted its provision for credit losses to $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter, citing more severe deterioration in the housing market than had been anticipated, particularly in California and Florida. Investors reacted negatively to the news, driving down Wachovia's common stock price by $0.90 per share as of midday June 2 to $22.90 a share. Wachovia's 52-week low, according to Yahoo!, is $23.13. Wachovia, based in Charlotte, N.C., can be found on the Web at http://www.wachovia.com.

1st Reverse Financial Services LLC has hired former regulator Dennis Thomas to be its new chief financial officer. Mr. Thomas will be responsible for all fiscal matters and reporting activities for 1st Reverse, a subsidiary of Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB. Previously, Mr. Thomas was director of internal audit for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago where he directed the GSE's staff in a variety of audits, including the Mortgage Partnership Finance, derivatives and hedging strategies. He also served as a regional accountant for the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Union Mortgage Group Inc., Bowling Green, Va., has hired Herbert W. Engler as president and chief executive. "We are pleased to add Herb to our team as we navigate through the difficult times the mortgage industry is facing. Herb has significant industry and leadership experience and we look forward to working with him to address the challenging issues and opportunities ahead," said D. Anthony Peay, executive vice president and chief financial officer of parent company Union Bankshares Corp. Mr. Engler most recently was president of Prosperity Mortgage Co., Fairfax, Va. Prior to joining Prosperity, he worked for Waterfield Financial Corp. in the Maryland/ Washington D.C. area.

American Home Bank, Mountville, Pa., has announced the combination of its Northeast and Southeast wholesale units and the promotion of mortgage veteran William J.S. "Bill" Kelley to head the division. The company said it is expanding its whole product offerings and delivery systems at a time when "many major wholesalers are withdrawing from the third-party origination business." Mr. Kelley, whose title will be president of the wholesale division, will be based in Jacksonville, Fla. He previously held positions at Travelers Mortgage Services, Anchor Mortgage Services, Tucker Federal Bank, and FNB Bank. The AHB wholesale division can be found on the Web at http://www.bankahbwholesale.com.

Carla Gallas has been promoted to senior vice president of claims at Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., the Milwaukee-based primary subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corp. MGIC said Ms. Gallas will be responsible for the company's loss mitigation efforts as well as maximizing its efficiency in claim operations. Ms. Gallas has been with MGIC for 24 years and has held various positions in sales and underwriting, most recently as vice president of field operations.

Jason Gillespie has been named senior vice president and mortgage purchase credit manager in the National Mortgage Purchase Division of Dallas-based Southwest Securities FSB. Mr. Gillespie has nearly two decades of experience in finance and mortgage banking, Southwest Securities said. His background includes production, secondary marketing, operations, credit management, and compliance. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.swsgroupinc.com.

A consultant and veteran mortgage- and asset-backed securities researcher has been named chief credit officer of Standard & Poor's in one of a series of executive appointments at the company. Mark Adelson, a former researcher for Nomura Securities International and Moody's Investors Service, has been named to the chief credit officer post as a managing director. In addition, former S&P chief credit and quality officer Clifford Griep has been named executive managing director of ratings risk management; and Neri Bukspan, previously the company's chief accountant, has been named chief quality officer and managing director.

After suffering huge mortgage-related losses, Wachovia Corp. has announced the separation of its chairman and CEO functions. At the close of business on May 8, Ken Thompson relinquished his title as chairman but remains as president and chief executive officer. Lanty Smith, Wachovia's "lead" director, was named chairman. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank has suffered large writedowns because of its collateralized debt obligation business. In a new report, Sandler O'Neill notes that Wachovia is suffering more than most because of its purchase of Golden West Financial, Oakland, Calif., a large player in the payment-option adjustable-rate mortgage market.

Cantor Fitzgerald LP, New York, has announced the formation of Cantor Real Estate LLC and named Andrew N. Stark to lead the group. Cantor said it plans to create a real estate fund focused chiefly on opportunistic investments in various sectors, including dislocated assets. Mr. Stark, who will be executive managing director of Cantor RE, was previously president of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions of WCI Communities Inc. after starting his career as a real estate attorney at Lord Day & Lord, Barrett Smith. Cantor can be found on the Web at http://www.cantor.com.

Regions Financial Corp., Birmingham, Ala., has announced that David H. Rupp will join the company on May 19 as senior executive vice president and head of consumer services, which includes its mortgage business. Mr. Rupp, who had been the sales, service, and execution executive for Bank of America's global consumer and small business bank, will lead Regions' consumer banking and mortgage lines of business, its largest business segment by revenue. He will also be a member of Regions' Executive Council, its highest-level management committee. Mr. Rupp succeeds Candice Bagby, who is retiring after a 38-year banking career. Ms. Bagby will remain with the company through a transition period. Mr. Rupp, 44, led BoA's home equity business and was previously its chief financial officer for consumer real estate. He has also worked for Wachovia Bank as controller for consumer products and structured products.