Charter One Bank Hires Chief Operating Officer for Its Mortgage Unit

Charter One Mortgage Corp. last week hired Joel T. VanRyckeghen, 40, to be executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Mr. VanRyckeghen, a former executive at HomeSide Lending Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla., is the first senior executive hired by the mortgage bank since it was bought last October by Charter One Bank, Cleveland. He will manage all aspects of the mortgage company's business except its servicing portfolio, which is managed by Paul J. Bailey, a 20-year veteran of the mortgage company.

"Goal No. 1 is to enhance the profitability of the mortgage company," said Mr. VanRyckeghen, who was reached Monday at the company's headquarters in Richmond, Va. "The second goal is to distribute bank products through our retail mortgage branches."

He will report to Richard D. Powers, president and chief executive officer of the mortgage company, who called him "a very talented guy."

Like many big depository institutions, Charter One Bank is hoping to use its mortgage operation, which has small profit margins, to sell more profitable products to its customers.

At Charter One Mortgage, the push is on to sell home equity lines of credit and subprime loans through mortgage offices, Mr. VanRyckeghen said.

Charter One Mortgage has an extensive network of offices, unlike many large mortgage banks. Formerly named American Home Funding Inc., it makes most of its home loans through its offices, buying only 10% of its loans from brokers or correspondents.

Mr. VanRyckeghen managed broker-lending at HomeSide the past two years. At Charter One, he will develop that channel further, as well as the company's small telephone-marketing business, Mr. Powers said. But Charter One Mortgage will remain a mostly retail lender, he added.

Before his three-year stint at HomeSide, now a subsidiary of National Australia Bank, Mr. VanRyckeghen worked at Bank of America, Bear, Stearns & Co., and Weyerhaeuser Mortgage.

The mortgage company expects to hire a chief financial officer within a month, Mr. Powers said.

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