The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced on Tuesday that Michael Fratantoni has been named VP of single family research and policy development. Fratantoni will be responsible for managing MBA's policy development research for issues impacting single-family lending.

Fratantoni joins MBA from Washington Mutual where he was the economic strategist in the enterprise risk management group, and was responsible for assessing macroeconomic, regional, and housing market trends that impacted the company's risk exposure and business prospects.

Prior to that, he served as MBA's senior director of single family research and economics and was a senior staff member for MBA's Council to Shape Change, an effort that brought together executives from across the industry to examine and report on the trends that would impact the future of mortgage markets.

Fratantoni was also director of economic and policy research at Fannie Mae, where he managed the production of policy studies by leading academics on issues relevant to Fannie Mae and served as a technical expert within the regulatory policy group. Before that role, he served as a senior economist in Fannie Mae's credit pricing group.

John A. Courson, president and CEO of the MBA, said, "We are very pleased to welcome Michael back to join MBA's research and economics team. During this time of unprecedented changes in the economy, his extensive experience will prove a vital asset to our organization, our members, and the entire industry."

Fratantoni received a Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in economics from The College of William and Mary. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Washington, and Johns Hopkins, George Washington, and Georgetown Universities and has published papers in various economics and real estate finance academic journals.

Carrie Bay | 04.15.09  www dsnews.com