1st Metropolitan Mortgage, a division of Empire Equity Group, said Tuesday that it has named Melissa Crider deputy chief compliance officer. In her new position, Crider will be responsible for managing state audits, consumer complaints and the oversight of the licensing and quality control departments. She also will serve as a liaison to regulatory entities for examination coordination and response preparation. Crider has more than 14 years of experience in the mortgage industry, 10 of them in mortgage regulatory compliance. Before joining 1st Metropolitan, she was senior vice president of compliance for Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. She has also served as an independent consultant for regulatory compliance servicing for mortgage lenders and brokers on the East Coast. Growing volume and complexity of industry regulations and their constant changes has made it imperative that brokers always have up to date information, 1st Metropolitan said in a press statement announcing the hire.

“By ensuring that we have the very best team of people to monitor and analyze regulations and changes at the federal and state levels, we give our originators the opportunity to focus on what they do best, originate loans and manage their relationships with customers,â€? said Daniel Jacobs, CEO of 1st Metropolitan. “We are proud of the infrastructure we have built that enables our originators to get the information they need regarding any regulations. We believe it’s our duty to arm them with knowledge so they can provide better information to our customers.â€? 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. and a division of Empire Equity Group since 2002, is a national mortgage brokerage, is licensed in 49 states with approximately 250 branches nationwide.