Robert Ryan, the Risk Manager of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has been tapped to be the Acting Commissioner following the exit of David Stevens.  Stevens announced his resignation in early March announcing his plans to join the Mortgage Bankers Association as chief executive.

Stevens had been expected to leave the agency at the end of April, but the HUD website is already showing Ryan as Acting Commissioner.  Concerns about potential conflicts of interest related to MBA's interactions with the FHA while he was still serving as Commissioner may have pushed up his departure date.

Ryan became the FHA's first Risk Manager in October 2009 when the agency faced unprecedented delinquencies and with capital reserves well below the 2 percent statutory requirement at 0.53 percent.  His primary responsibility was to establish a new office for the oversight and management of credit risk.  His office has served to provide detailed analysis to help the agency respond to market shifts.

Ryan's over 26 year career in the mortgage industry includes senior executive level posts with Freddie Mac prior to joining the FHA.