T.J. Durkin has been named CEO of AG Mortgage Investment Trust, the company announced in a press release. Durkin, who currently serves as President and as a member of the Board, will continue both of those roles. He will replace David Roberts, who has served as CEO since 2011 but will resign as Chairman, CEO, and as a member of the board due to his pending retirement. “In early 2021, we set out to reposition and simplify the Company’s mission – to become a leading, pure-play residential credit REIT,” said Roberts. “T.J. and his team have achieved this transformation at a rapid pace and I am confident that under T.J.’s leadership, MITT will continue to be well positioned in executing…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Leaders at Bank of America provided corporate funding for a new documentary exploring how people in the United States grappled with the Holocaust. “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” a three-part, six-hour series by Ken Burns is running on PBS this week and all the episodes are available online. On a PBS website promoting the documentary, it says, “Americans consider themselves a ‘nation of immigrants,’ but as the catastrophe of the Holocaust unfolded in Europe, the United States proved unwilling to open its doors to more than a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of desperate people seeking refuge… Did the nation fail to live up to its ideals? This is a history to be reckoned with.” Burns…
CrossCountry Mortgage is investing in the future of Hispanic homeownership through a new Spanish mortgage application and a focused Hispanic website. Leaders at the company announced their intentions on Tuesday. CCM is one of America’s largest retail mortgage lenders and has been included nine times on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private businesses. The company is also a partner of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a trade association that works towards economic mobility for Hispanics, including homeownership. “Our support for the Hispanic community extends well past translated materials. This is personal,” says CCM Chief Brand Officer Laura Soave. “We have hundreds of Spanish-speaking loan officers with deep roots in the community. We’re partnering with organizations…
Michael Puorro has joined Embrace Home Loans in its Basking Ridge, NJ, branch as producing sales manager, the company announced in a press release. Puorro brings nearly two decades of mortgage industry experience to the position, having spent the last nine years as a top-producing originator at Caliber Home Loans. In just his last three years there, he originated $383 million in loans. “I’m excited to join such an incredible organization. When I first met [Brian Woltman, Basking Ridge branch manager], I knew right away we shared a very similar approach to the mortgage business,” Puorro said. “I was also attracted by Embrace’s solid reputation and strong mix of innovative loan products. I particularly like that Embrace is big enough…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The senior vice president of business development at Rocket Mortgage says their partnership with Boston-based Santander Bank is an example of the kind of relationship they hope to cultivate. Tom Dempsey recently sat down for an interview with The Mortgage Note. He said partnering with Rocket Mortgage gives companies access to their technology. “We’re offering partnership models that externalize our models and systems,” Dempsey said. “The key thing is that at Rocket we’ve created a number of partnership models for banks and credit unions.” Dempsey called this a holistic approach to offering customers what they are looking for as lenders pull into and out of markets. On Aug. 5, leaders at Santander Bank and Rocket Mortgage announced…
Denise Miller has been promoted to Vice President, Controller, at Monroe Community Credit Union. The company announced in a press release that Miller will oversee the financial and regulatory functions of the credit union while managing the accounting, payment strategies, and payment solutions departments. Her experience includes more than two decades in the financial institution industry, including as an auditor. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a double major in Accounting and Finance from Central Michigan University, and her MBA from Walsh College. “Since joining the credit union in April of 2020, Denise’s responsibilities have steadily increased in the financial operations of the credit union,” said Kristine Brenner, President/CEO of MCCU. “As a former auditor, her…
Joseph Grassi has been appointed as chief risk officer of loanDepot, the company announced in a press release. Grassi reports directly to loanDepot CEO Frank Martell. He is responsible for the company’s risk management program, enterprise and loan-level risk governance policies, and potential operations risks. “I look forward to working with Frank and his entire leadership team at loanDepot to deliver on the company’s vision of becoming an increasingly purpose-driven organization,” said Grassi. “loanDepot has both an incredible reputation for fostering innovation and a deep commitment to its customer-first philosophy. I’m excited to leverage the strengths of the Company and team to help make the American dream of homeownership a reality for more families.” Grassi brings more than three decades…
Atlanta-based Peachtree Group has promoted Brian Waldman to chief investment officer and appointed Jeremy Stoler to EVP, debt capital markets, the company announced in a press release. Waldman will manage the company’s multi-billion-dollar investment portfolio and investment strategies across its distinct operating, lending, and real estate divisions. He brings two decades of experience to the position, including Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets for Beacon Property Members, where he executed capital markets and other advisory assignments with an asset value of more than $8 billion. He joined Peachtree in 2015. During his tenure, he has overseen transactions grossing about $6 billion. “Brian has extensive investment and portfolio management experience and an in-depth understanding of the investment process. We are…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Three providers of customer relationship management services say that as the housing market changes and technology becomes better, focusing on the people behind the transactions pays off. Petra Cephas President Bishoi Nageh, Bonzo CEO Chad Jampedro, and Big Purple Dot CEO Roxana Davidoff recently sat down with The Mortgage Note and this is what they had to say on the topic. Leaders at Petra Cephas in New Jersey recently announced that its sales team has grown by 100 percent over the past 12 months. They attribute that growth to the boutique mortgage company’s human-based customer relationship management system and their ability to free up loan officers from non-sales related tasks so they can spend all of their time…
Last year, United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia raised eyebrows when he promised generous stipends to 133 Michigan State University men’s basketball and football players. Ishbia paid each player, regardless of position, $500 per month in exchange for marketing UWM on their social media pages. NCAA athletes had long been banned from receiving such payments while playing college sports. But the conference changed its player compensation rules last year to allow student-athletes to sign endorsement deals on their own Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). MSU players will receive a $500 monthly payment for a total of $6,000 over the year, regardless of position. While fans of MSU’s men’s sports cheered the move, Ishbia faced backlash from critics over the exclusion…
