Retail mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate has named former Housing and Urban Development Principal Deputy General Counsel Joseph Grassi as its chief risk officer.

In this role, Grassi will support the company’s growth in terms of mitigating the potential risks involved in acquisitions, new products and partnerships.

Chief risk officer is a new role at Guaranteed Rate, and according to the company, was added in anticipation of significant growth in the coming years. It was a concerted effort to form this role and hire someone with extensive industry experience, the company said.

Grassi will guide the company in an effort to make the best decisions possible when expanding.

“Guiding this great organization through its continued and significant growth by managing the unique risks associated with the mortgage industry is an incredible opportunity and an exciting challenge,” Grassi said. “Guaranteed Rate is known for setting the standard for customer service and I’m thrilled to be part of a company with such a positive culture.”

Grassi brings several decades of experience to the company, having spent over 20 years with Fannie Mae as a head legal advisor before working at HUD.

“We are thrilled to have Joe as part of our team,” said Guaranteed Rate Founder and CEO Victor Ciardelli. “His impressive industry experience will allow us to build on our strong compliance and risk management functions while greatly supporting our company as we continue our momentum of innovation and growth.”

Earlier this year, Guaranteed Rate also brought on Marc Demetriou as vice president of mortgage lending for the northern New Jersey area. Demetriou is one of the nation’s top loan originators.