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Th e M Rep o RT | 57 O r i g i nat i O n s e r v i c i n g a na ly t i c s s e c O n da r y m a r k e t SECONDARY MARKET the latest Fannie, Freddie name ceO for common securitization company Former homeward Residential chief takes the lead as GSes move closer to a shared secondary market infrastructure. F annie Mae and Freddie Mac jointly announced that David M. Applegate will be the first CEO of Common Securitization Solutions (CSS), an entity created by the GSEs to operate a new secondary mortgage market infrastructure called the Common Securitization Platform (CSP). In addition to naming the new CEO, both GSEs appointed two executives to the CSS board of managers. The two companies also signed governance and oper- ating agreements for CSS. Applegate has more than 20 years of mortgage banking experience. He was an execu- tive with GMAC Mortgage and GMAC Bank during his 17-year tenure with General Motors Acceptance Corporation. While with GMAC Mortgage, Applegate assembled an executive team that helped transform the company into an industry leader. Just prior to joining CSS, Applegate was the president, CEO, and director of Dallas- based Homeward Residential, Inc., a mortgage servicer and lender with assets of $4.5 bil- lion and a workforce of 3,000. He also managed a financial consulting practice and served as president of Radian Guaranty, Inc., a mortgage insurer. "I am delighted that CSS will have a leader of such stature and quality. David Applegate will help ensure that CSS forms a sound foundation on which to rebuild the infrastructure of the country's secondary mortgage market and launch a single se- curity," said Jerry Weiss, Freddie Mac EVP and chief administra- tive officer. "Freddie Mac is pleased to be playing a leading role in this important project." CSS was created for the pur- pose of operating the CSP and is jointly owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Considered a mile- stone toward the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) goal of building a new secondary market infrastructure, the CSP is meant to replace certain elements of the GSEs' proprietary systems for securitizing mortgages and per- forming back office and adminis- trative functions. "CSS is poised to take the next steps in building a future securiti- zation infrastructure," commented Andrew Bon Salle, Fannie Mae's EVP of single-family underwrit- ing, pricing, and capital markets. "David Applegate is a respected leader in the industry who will bring deep expertise in mortgage finance to CSS. Fannie Mae looks forward to working with CSS, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to lay the foundation for a strong hous- ing finance system for the future." The four new members of the CSS board of managers are: David Lowman, Freddie Mac's EVP of single-family business; Jerry Weiss, Freddie Mac's EVP and chief administrative officer; Terry Edwards, Fannie Mae's VP and COO; and Rick Sorkin, Fannie Mae's SVP of single-fami- ly pricing strategy and structured transactions. "Today, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the enterprises) announced several important steps in the multiyear process of developing the Common Securitization Platform, which will create a shared securitiza- tion infrastructure for both enterprises," FHFA Director Mel Watt said in a prepared state- ment. "[O]ne of our goals is to build a new securitization in- frastructure to meet the current securitization needs of the enter- prises that could be adaptable for other users in the future." Speaking of Applegate's ap- pointment as head of CSS, Watt said, "David has the skills and experience needed at this impor- tant juncture in the development of the CSP to move it to launch." He added, "FHFA remains committed to achieving a seamless CSP launch, and I am confident the steps announced today, combined with ongoing input from stakeholders, will help ensure success. "