Great news from U.S. Bank. They have announced that Abdul Rajput, most recently President of Champion's HomePride Finance, and formerly the head of Bank America Housing Services and Greenpoint Credit, has been hired by U.S. Bank to start a manufactured housing finance unit.

According to a press release: "Abdul Rajput will lead the company's entrance into the manufactured housing finance business with a strategy similar to that of recreation finance, partnering with reputable, preferred dealers and manufacturers and indirect sales to a customer base with low-risk demographics like that of the recreation finance consumer. With more than 20 years in the manufactured housing finance industry, Rajput will build on the successes he has experienced throughout his career".

"We are keenly aware of what it takes to succeed in this industry. I am confident that with Abdul's leadership and our proven track record with start-up operations, we will be successful while differentiating ourselves from others in the manufactured housing industry," said Randy Griffith, Executive Vice President of U.S. Bank Consumer Lending.

U.S. Bank is a great addition to our industry, since they can rely on their own deposits for a ready source of low cost funds, and asset backed securities from Wall Street, where bondholders require a much larger "spread" to cover the potential risk . As a "portfolio" lender U.S. Bank can be more creative in developing innovative and competitive loan products than a typical "finance" company.

This is great news for our industry! Clearly, U.S. Bank will be able to staff-up their operations from a large pool of qualified people with manufactured housing lending experience, since many talented people have lost their jobs as other lenders have exited the industry in the last few years.

It's nice to pass on some exciting news once in a while!

Greg Harmon - President
Commonwealth Real Estate Services
E-mail: greg@cwres.com
Telephone 503.244.2300 Ext. 101