Head of Mortgage Bankers Association to resign

Jonathan Kempner, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association since March 2001, said his departure--effective Dec. 31--was voluntary and coincides with the end of his contract with the trade group.

He is to be replaced by John Courson, a longtime California mortgage banker and the association's chairman in 2003.

Courson's company, Folsom, Calif.-based Central Pacific Mortgage, shut down last year. He was appointed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004 to chair the board of directors of the California Housing Finance Agency, which seeks to help first-time homebuyers.

Courson was named chief operating officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association effective next month and is to become president on Jan 1.

Kempner, 57, said he has not lined up a new job, but will be looking for a position at a trade association or foundation.

"I'm confident that I'll land in something equally exciting," he said, noting that in the real estate industry, "I think it's fair to say that I have one of the plumpest rolodexes in town."