Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. has reshuffled its upper echelons, creating new positions for executives Rich Mirro and Geoff Dreyer.
Mr. Mirro will serve as be chief operating officer for originations and Mr. Dreyer will now be chief operating officer for servicing, said Fred Koons, president of the Tampa, Fla., unit of Chase Manhattan Corp.
The new jobs will be something of a flip-flop for the executives; until now Mr. Mirro was in charge of servicing and Mr. Dreyer concentrated on originations.
"There is some seasoning going on here and we think that they will both bring a broad business perspective to their new jobs," said Mr. Koons.
Besides loan servicing, Mr. Dreyer will also spearhead Chase's purchase of loans from correspondents as well as bulk purchases of servicing. Mr. Mirro will run Chase's retail network and handle its purchase of loans from brokers.
Mr. Koons also took the opportunity to enunciate the company's continued efforts to grow its mortgage bank, "The Chase Manhattan Bank is committed to mortgage lending as a core line of business. Many other institutions have recently exited mortgage lending, but Chase is here to stay."
Mr. Koons added, "Chase Manhattan Mortgage has a focused plan to become one of the nation's top three lenders by 1997."
Much of that growth is likely to come from expansion internally, according to Mr. Koons. While the company may buy mortgage banks to fill in strategic holes in its originations franchise, the executive said it is unlikely to want to buy a complete business. "I have the platform I need," he said.
In his new role, Mr. Mirro will have responsibility for all branch and alternative origination activities including those of the retail jumbo unit, Chase Manhattan Personal Financial Services. At Chase for eight years, Mr. Mirro most recently served as mortgage operations and systems executive. His other Chase experience has included management of the retail branch system in Manhattan and the Latin American consumer banking franchise.
At Chase for 11 years, Mr. Dreyer most recently served as loan originations executive for the central United States. He was previously president of Troy & Nichols and chief financial officer for Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. In 1992, Chase purchased Troy & Nichols, Monroe, La., from an investor group led by Ronald Perelman.
Chase Manhattan Mortgage has a nationwide network of offices that offer a complete array of both conforming and nonconforming residential loans. It originated $17.4 billion of loans in 1994 and serviced a portfolio of $64.5 billion as of Dec. 31.
Both Mr. Mirro and Mr. Dreyer will be given free rein to run their units as if they were independent companies. "We give them resources and give them hurdles and then they see how to get there," said Mr. Koons.
"It is Chase's intent to grow our retail, wholesale, and alternative origination channels to better match our customers' needs. We now have the ability to serve all borrowers with the highest levels of customer service," said Mr. Mirro.
"Chase has been successful in nearly doubling its servicing portfolio in the last two years to become the country's sixth largest servicer. We are committed to leveraging our servicing capacity to aggressively pursue additional portfolio growth in the coming years," Mr. Dreyer said.
