Crosscountry Mortgage Hires Former Pennymac Execs

CrossCountry Mortgage, a top-10 U.S. mortgage lender, has hired a team of former Pennymac Financial Services executives to lead its capital markets and investment-related activities. 

On Wednesday, CCM announced Vandad Fartaj as the chief investment officer, William Chang as chief capital markets officer, and Tom Rettinger as chief portfolio risk officer. The team will develop and execute the company’s investment strategies, secondary market activities, and risk management, among other things. 

Fartaj stepped down as Pennymac’s senior managing director and chief investment officer in March 2023, after 15 years at the company. During that time, he helped with credit risk transfer transactions and the first mortgage servicing rights (MSR) securitizations. 

He was then replaced by William Chang, who had joined the company in 2012 after 13 years at Credit Suisse. In October, Chang stepped down and was succeeded by Mark Elbaum. Meanwhile, Rettinger joined Pennymac in 2010 after holding leadership roles at Bank of America and HSBC. He left in June.

Ron Leonhardt, founder and CEO of CrossCountry Mortgage, said the trio brings “knowledge, relationships, and unparalleled expertise in navigating complex capital markets.” 

Clevaland-based CrossCountry Mortgage originated $25.6 billion in mortgage loans from January to September, up 8.8% compared to the same period in 2023, according to Inside Mortgage Finance (IMF) estimates. Pennymac, a powerhouse in the correspondent channel, produced more than three times more loans, with a total of $79.8 billion in the same period, which was up 10.3% year over year.  

CCM had 4,170 sponsored loan officers in 707 branch locations as of Thursday, per the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS).