Carol Galante is reportedly stepping down as commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) this fall so that she can take a professorship at the University of California, Berkeley.
Galante took over as acting commissioner of the FHA in July 2011 and was formerly sworn in as commissioner on Dec. 30, 2012.
As per a Bloomberg News report, she is planning to take a position as the university's I. Donald Terner Distinguished Professor in Affordable Housing and Urban Policy starting on Jan. 1.
Biniam Gebre, general deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will become acting commissioner after Galante departs, according to the report.
In a statement, David Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and former assistant secretary for housing and federal housing commissioner at HUD, said he worked closely with Galante both at FHA and in his current role, ‘and her departure will be a great loss for the industry as well as to HUD. Carol was a tremendous asset to both in very difficult times.
‘As deputy assistant secretary for multifamily, Carol played an instrumental role bolstering the strength and stability of FHA's multifamily and healthcare programs coming out of the financial crisis,’ Stevens said. ‘Since assuming her current role as FHA commissioner, she has worked tirelessly on the critical reforms to further strengthen FHA's risk management that have helped restore the financial health of the mutual mortgage insurance fund. Throughout it all, she has been a strong advocate for FHA's primary role providing safe, affordable, sustainable housing opportunities for all Americans.
‘UC Berkeley will be fortunate to have Carol on faculty, and I look forward to continuing to work with her as part of the broad stakeholder community dedicated to ensuring that the U.S. housing system remains the envy of the world,’ Stevens added.
