City & Suburban chief earns top Mortgage Bankers award

Real Estate Weekly, Oct 26, 2005

Thomas W. Schettino, president of City & Suburban Federal Savings Bank announced that Joseph J. Laquidara, senior vice president & Chief Mortgage Officer has just been awarded the prestigious designation of Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) by the Society of Mortgage Bankers and Campus MBA of The Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, DC.

He will officially graduate and receive his CMB award at the MBA CREF Conference of the Association in Orlando, Florida.

Described as the pinnacle designation of the real estate finance industry, the CMB requires 5 years of intensive study with written and oral exams covering a wide variety of topics such as: comprehensive industry issues; real estate law; commercial lending; commercial servicing; construction lending; and capital markets.

Laquidara met all the criteria after spending many years as a mortgage correspondent and originator. Besides his position at C&S Bank, Laquidara has been an officer of the Metropolitan Mortgage Officers' Society and is their immediate past president.

He is also on the Board of Governors of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New York, a Governor of the Bronx/Manhattan Board of Realtors and member of the Real Estate Board of New York. The Mortgage Bankers Association was founded in 1914 and today serves nearly 2,800 companies involved in residential, multifamily and commercial companies, as well as industry related service providers and state associations.

It links housing and community financing needs to capital sources, both domestic and global.

It also provides a voice on Capitol Hill and with the federal regulatory agencies.

The Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation program was started in 1973 for members of the Mortgage Bankers Association who have demonstrated through education, experience and performance a proficient knowledge of the broad spectrum of real estate finance. The requirements include a system of points applied to the candidate's qualifications, with 150 points needed for advancing to the testing phase.

Martin S. Berger, Chairman and CEO of C&S Bank also congratulated Laquidara on his distinguished accomplishment and said that C&S Bank is proud to have him as the head of its Mortgage Department.