Doug Criscitello became the new chief financial officer of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week. In addition to overseeing HUD finances and preparing the budget, Criscitello will be in charge of establishing systems to handle the millions of transactions every year that support HUD projects. John Cox, the last CFO left HUD with the prior Administration as part of the transition, according to a HUD spokesperson. The HUD 2011 budget proposal dropped 5% below the budget in 2010 to $41.6bn after increasing annually Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance premiums by 50 bps to 2.25% earlier this month. Criscitello arrived at HUD from PricewaterhouseCoopers where he helped establish a public sector financial services practice. He was executive director at JPMorgan Securities, where he provided advisory services to US government agencies on investment banking and finances. “Doug is very well known and highly-respected for his government service and his work in the banking and financial services sector, and we are very happy to welcome him to the Department,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “He brings a broad base of experience to the table, and we have no doubt our Agency and those we serve will benefit greatly from his insights and his expertise in a wide range of financial topics.” Criscitello landed at HUD at a time of significant housing challenges that will call for some adaption. HUD launched the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC) to connect housing with job creation through new grant programs. “I want to help optimize HUD’s budget while also building trust by enhancing official and public understanding of our expenditures,” Criscitello said. Write to Jon Prior.