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The Treasury Department has appointed Donald V. Hammond to be acting undersecretary for domestic finance to replace Brian Roseboro, who left Dec. 31.A career Treasury staffer, Mr. Hammond was appointed fiscal assistant secretary in 1998 to provide policy oversight for Treasury's debt issuance activities. Until the White House nominates a new undersecretary, Mr. Hammond will advise Treasury Secretary John Snow on matters involving banking, capital markets, and government-sponsored enterprises.

Brian K. Lipson has been named executive vice president and chief investment officer of Trizec Properties Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment trust.Mr. Lipson was EVP of TrizecHahn Office Properties, Trizec's predecessor company, from 1997 to 2001. He was most recently a consultant with Maguire Properties Inc., a Los Angeles-based REIT. Trizec, an office REIT, can be found on the Web at http://www.trz.com.

Freddie Mac has placed vice president Paul McDermott in charge of increasing the company's affordable multifamily loan business and investments in low-income housing tax credits.In his newly created position, McDermott will be responsible for Freddie's purchases of small multifamily loans and multifamily loans on subsidized rental properties. "This position is critical to the success of our housing mission," said Freddie senior vice president Adrian Corbiere. Mr. McDermott joined Freddie in April 2002. He previously worked at Lend-Lease Real Estate Investments.

Robert E. Bowers has been named chief financial officer of Wells Real Estate Funds, a national real estate investment management firm based in Atlanta.Mr. Bowers was most recently a financial consultant, and he served previously as CFO of NetBank Inc., an Atlanta-based online bank that originates mortgage and home equity loans, among others. Wells RE Funds can be found on the Web at http://www.wellsref.com.

Vinod Thomas has been named senior vice president for strategic business planning at LandAmerica Default Services, a subsidiary of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va.Mr. Thomas, who had been vice president for national outsourcing, will oversee the creation of partnerships with real estate attorneys, agents, and brokers to establish joint ventures, carry out mergers and acquisitions, and form strategic alliances, LandAmerica said. In addition, the company announced that Rick Snoke has been named vice president - outsourcing manager. Both Mr. Thomas and Mr. Snoke are based in Irvine, Calif. LandAmerica can be found on the Web at http://www.landam.com.

Stephen J. Rotella, chief executive officer of Chase Home Finance, has been named president and chief operating officer of Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, effective Jan. 10.WaMu said Mr. Rotella will be responsible for the oversight of the thrift's retail, commercial, and mortgage businesses as well as the company's technology group and day-to-day administration. Mr. Rotella, 51, has been the CEO of Chase Home Finance and executive vice president of JP Morgan Chase since 2001. He was COO of Chase Home Finance from 1998 to 2001, and EVP of servicing at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Co. from 1991 to 1998, WaMu said. "We embark on our new five-year strategic plan as a far larger and more complex company than we were just five years ago, and so the addition of a president and COO to our team is the natural next step in our growth and evolution as a top-tier, national financial services company," said Kerry Killinger, WaMu's chairman and CEO. WaMu can be found online at http://www.wamu.com.

Weingarten Realty Investors, Houston, has announced the promotions of Stephen C. Richter to executive vice president and chief financial officer and of Johnny L. Hendrix to EVP for asset management.In addition, Scott Morway was promoted to vice president and regional director of new development, and Mark D. Stout was named vice president and associate general counsel, the company said. Weingarten, a real estate investment trust that chiefly owns shopping centers and industrial properties, can be found on the Web at http://www.weingarten.com.

Moody's Investors Service has appointed Kei Kitayama, an executive who has worked as a commercial mortgage-backed securities analyst in Japan, as the new representative director of Moody's Japan K.K. in Tokyo.Mr. Kitayama has served in a variety of capacities in his six years at Moody's, most recently as managing director for structured finance. He has also served as managing director for CMBS and esoteric assets. He replaces Naoki Yamauchi, who plans to leave the company in February to pursue a long-held interest in teaching, according to Moody's. The rating agency can be found on the Web at http://www.moodys.com.

David M. Applegate, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of GMAC Mortgage Corp., has been elected to the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.Mr. Applegate was elected to a "non-guaranteed" Delaware directorship based on the FHLBank's level of capital stock holdings, the Pittsburgh bank said. In addition to his titles at GMAC Mortgage, Mr. Applegate is chairman of GMAC Bank, Horsham, Pa.; president of GMAC Residential; and chairman of GMAC Home Services. The FHLBank also elected a second new director, Gerard M. Thomchick, who is senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of First Commonwealth Financial Corp., Indiana, Pa.

R.J. Arnett has been named to the new position of executive vice president and national wholesale prime production manager of MortgageIT Inc.Mr. Arnett was most recently senior vice president and co-manager of the Western region of MIT Lending, MortgageIT's wholesale lending division. His new responsibilities were formerly held by Gary Bierfriend, who was recently elevated to president of MortgageIT. Before joining MIT Lending, Mr. Arnett spent nine years with Countrywide, departing as executive vice president of its wholesale division.