The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has sworn in Lennar Mortgage president Laura Escobar as its 2025 chair.
Assurance Financial has announced the appointment of Jim Clapp to the newly created role of chief lending officer. In his new position, Clapp will oversee the company’s strategic lending initiatives and business development processes. Prior to joining Assurance Financial, he held executive roles at several prominent mortgage and financial organizations, where he was responsible for strategic growth, risk management, and driving operational efficiency.
Merchants Bank has announced the hiring of John Forssander as a mortgage loan originator for Merchants Mortgage. He will join the mortgage team operating out of the company’s office in Oak Brook, Illinois. Forssander has more than 25 years of experience across various mortgage companies, most recently serving as a senior mortgage advisor at ACB Mortgage Group. He also held positions at U.S. Bank, where he was a mortgage originator and construction specialist. He is a graduate of Western Illinois University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business, management and finance.
CoreVest has announced the promotion of Fred Matera to chief executive officer. Matera has served as CoreVest’s co-head for the last year and has been part of Redwood’s leadership team since 2019. Matera has over 30 years of experience in residential lending and fixed income markets, including the last six with CoreVest parent company Redwood, where he also spent time leading Redwood’s Residential Consumer Mortgage Banking platform.
ServiceLink has announced the appointment of Hemanth Panyam as its senior vice president of product innovation. In this role, Panyam will be responsible for bringing new products and services to life at ServiceLink, teaming up with operations and sales to meet the needs of clients. He has more than 20 years of product innovation, management and strategy experience.
Verus Title has announced the appointment of Monica Schroeder as president. Before joining Verus Title, Schroeder led a national title agency for five years. Schroeder graduated from California State University, Fullerton, with a bachelor of arts degree in Communications.
Asurity Advisors has welcomed Ellen Rose as senior advisor. She brings over 40 years of comprehensive experience in mortgage banking, including both residential and commercial lending and servicing. Prior to joining Asurity Advisors, she held executive roles for several firms including Shearson American Express, Merrill Lynch and Bayview Financial Trading Group.
