Amid M&A Wave, Trade Group May Hook Big Fish from Mortgage Banking

It would have been unlikely during the lucrative mortgage refinance boom, but today it just might be possible to lure a top mortgage bank executive to the top staff job at the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

With fewer companies in the consolidating industry, there is less demand for chief executive officers these days, said Ron J. McCord, president of the MBA. "It would not surprise me if we had a number of candidates from within the industry-current and former CEOs of companies and former officers of the association."

The MBA announced in June that Warren Lasko, who has been executive vice president for 12 years, intended to resign. He will remain at the job until a successor is named.

The executive vice president job entails representing the industry in dealings with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, before regulators such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and in the halls of Congress.

The job's "high visibility and its stature within the industry" will be a draw for CEOs, said Mr. McCord, president of American Mortgage and Investment Co., Oklahoma City. His term as president of the trade group ends after the annual convention. "It's an outstanding opportunity for someone to be at the helm of an industry that does good work."

Mr. McCord's predecessor at the MBA, Paul Reid, is said to be interested in the executive vice president post, but Mr. McCord would not confirm that. Mr. Reid is CEO of American Home Funding Inc., a subsidiary of Rochester Community Savings Bank, soon to be part of Charter One Financial, Cleveland.

Summer vacations have lengthened the time it will take to fill the job. Mr. McCord had originally said a new executive vice president would be in place when the MBA meets in New York in October, but he's now hoping the selection will be complete by year's end.

He said the search firm Korn Ferry would be soliciting prospective candidates over the next four to six weeks. The MBA's search committee hopes to have a short list by the end of October and begin interviewing in November, Mr. McCord said.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER