New Ginnie Mae and OFHEO heads confirmed

Mortgage Banking, August, 2006

As expected, former MBA Chairman Robert M. Couch, CMB, was sworn in as the new president of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) on June 29 following confirmation by the Senate.

Couch now fills the top slot at Ginnie Mae, which had been vacant since December 2004 when former president Ronald Rosenfeld left to become chairman of the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Couch promised to continue building on the nation's record homeownership rate and expanding access to affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families.

"While building a career in the mortgage industry, I came to appreciate the important role Ginnie Mae plays in making affordable housing available," said Couch. "I look forward to serving as its president and becoming an integral part of its efforts to make affordable housing available to American families."

Prior to his selection as president of Ginnie Mae, Couch served as president and chief executive officer of New South Federal Savings Bank, Birmingham, Alabama, and as managing director of Collateral Mortgage Ltd., also in Birmingham.

Couch served as MBA chairman from 2003 to 2004, while also serving on MBA's Blue Ribbon Task Force responsible for defining the proper role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the mortgage industry. In addition, he was a member of Fannie Mae's National Advisory Council.

Jonathan L. Kempner, MBA's president and chief executive officer, lauded Couch's confirmation by the Senate to head Ginnie Mae.

"Rob has had a long and distinguished career in housing and finance, and he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this important role. Ginnie Mae plays a key role in the real estate finance industry by providing affordable mortgage financing in the secondary mortgage market," said Kempner. "During Rob's tenure as chairman of MBA, our members saw first-hand his commitment to investing in communities and his leadership in ensuring the continued innovation in the mortgage industry, in both the private and government sectors. We look forward to working with Rob in his new role at Ginnie Mae."

Meanwhile, the Senate voted to confirm James B. Lockhart III as director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Lockhart was nominated by President Bush at the end of April to head OFHEO, but he took office immediately as acting director in order to oversee the agency's preparation and delivery of its special report on Fannie Mae's accounting problems earlier this summer (see Mortgage Banking, July 2006, p. 12).

Previously, Lockhart served as deputy commissioner of Social Security, a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed position. He was the Social Security Administration's chief operating officer, secretary to the Social Security Board of Trustees and a member of the President's Management Council and the council's Executive Committee. Lockhart also served in the previous Bush administration as executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation from 1989 until 1993. He reported to a board composed of the U.S. secretaries of Labor, Treasury and Commerce.