Career moves

Sidley Austin hired Kevin Blauch as a partner in New York in the structured finance and securitization practice.

SLM Corp., more commonly known as Sallie Mae, has appointed John (Jack) Remondi as president and chief operating officer.

Gleacher & Co. said Tuesday that it has started a residential mortgage banking subsidiary called Descap Mortgage Funding.

Two credit chiefs have left Citadel Securities along with a high-raking equities executive, according to several reports.

Eversheds has appointed structured finance and derivatives lawyer Kingsley Ong as partner in its Hong Kong banking and finance team.

Janney Capital Markets named Noam Saxonhouse as director in real estate investment banking.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has expelled APS Financial Corp., Austin, Texas, and barred its former president and its former broker from the industry in connection with an alleged scheme involving an elderly investor and markups on CMOs as well as other types of securities.

BlackRock, which manages $3.4 trillion of assets for investors, will launch its own trading platform inside the firm, according to the Financial Times.

FBR Capital Markets, a 21-year-old investment bank hobbled during the financial crisis by a bloated cost structure and ties to a mortgage REIT, seems to be making all of the right moves. But it is still waiting for them to pay off.

Nomura Holdings named David Benson vice chairman for risk and regulatory affairs.

BTIG, which opened a trading floor for 200 professionals last week, plans to expand further in its specialty areas — equity, equity derivatives and fixed-income — but the New York brokerage’s co-founder said he does not plan to expand into traditional investment banking anytime soon.

Perella Weinberg Partners named six new partners. The partners have all been promoted to partner from managing director and are based in New York and London.

Former Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) John Dugan, a key regulatory player in the 2008 financial crisis, has accepted a position with the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling.

Timothy Ng and Mark Hong have joined the investment consulting arm of Clearbrook Global Advisors.

The Treasury Department will gather more detailed information from residential servicers on their proprietary loan modifications.

Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization (C-BASS) founders Bruce Williams and Saul Sanders have formed a new company with the working title of 'Shellpoint' to purchase and securitize jumbo residential lenders, industry sources confirmed to National Mortgage News.

Dechert hired Laura Swihart as a partner in the finance and real estate practice and will be based in the firm’s New York office. Swihart was most recently a partner at Winton & Strawn.

The Senate Banking Committee Tuesday afternoon approved the nomination of Joseph Smith to be the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) by a 16-6 vote. However, several Republicans are planning to delay his confirmation by the full Senate.

Joe Smith, the Obama administration's nominee for director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said Monday that the government should continue playing a role in the mortgage market, but he left the final word to Congress.

BDO Valuation Advisors has hired Greg Adams as director and national real estate practice leader, the firm announced.