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FHFA Announces Plans to Combine Divisions

As the newly confirmed ""Mel Watt"":http://www.themreport.com/articles/senate-confirms-mel-watt-as-fhfa-director-2013-12-10 prepares to take the reins at the ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov/ (FHFA), current Acting Director Edward DeMarco has announced changes to the agency's senior staff.

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According to a release from FHFA, Jeffrey Spohn, deputy director of the Office of Conservatorship Operations (OCO), will retire in January. To fill the vacant role, the agency has appointed Wanda DeLeo, who currently serves as deputy director in the Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI). The two conservatorship-related divisions will be combined into a new Division of Conservatorship to ease the transition.

""Combining OCO and OSI into a new division will enhance the already existing coordination between these two offices,"" DeMarco said. ""I am pleased to have an executive [COLUMN_BREAK]

with Wanda's experience to manage this new division and am grateful to her for her willingness to take on this added responsibility.""

DeLeo has been with FHFA since its creation in 2008, taking over her current position at OSI when it was formed in 2012. In that capacity, she has overseen the development of a common securitization platform between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as periodic progress reports and annual conservatorship scorecards.

As the new deputy director of the Division of Conservatorship, she will serve as FHFA's central point of contact for all matters related to the GSEs' conservatorships.

Spohn has also served at FHFA since 2008, working with executives at the agency and both enterprises on all conservatorship-related matters, including the management of business settlements. He deferred his original retirement plans to continue working to resolve legacy business issues, the agency's release says.

""Jeff's unique contributions to the stability achieved with the two conservatorships cannot be overstated,"" DeMarco said. ""He has personally and substantially contributed to billions of dollars of recovers on behalf of taxpayers at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and he has earned widespread respect for his strong communication and problem-solving skills during these five-plus years of conservatorship.""

About Author: Tory Barringer

Tory Barringer began his journalism career in early 2011, working as a writer for the University of Texas at Arlington's student newspaper before joining the DS News team in 2012. In addition to contributing to DSNews.com, he is also the online editor for DS News' sister publication, MReport, which focuses on mortgage banking news.
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