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MortgagePoint ยป Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 14 August 2025 across the Southeast Division, including Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Drawing on his extensive 20-year career in the mortgage industry, Shelton will concentrate on cultivating a high-per- formance culture that drives growth and empowers loan officers to thrive. "Chris is a highly respected leader in the mortgage industry. He had many choices on his next journey, and I'm honored that he chose to join myself and New American Funding," said Pat Bolan, NAF's Chief Production Officer. "His core values, encompassing strong character and high integrity, fit well with NAF's culture and are evident in his impecca- ble reputation and the trust he has built with customers. He is passionate about building, growing, and recruiting, and his extensive mortgage knowledge has been a key factor in driving his team's success." Prior to joining NAF, Shelton led the East Coast Sales Team at Summit Funding, where he coached, mentored, and trained loan officers to meet both personal and professional goals while still fulfilling customer needs. He served as the Southeast Divisional head at Movement Mortgage for nearly 12 years, overseeing more than 1,200 loan officers and originating approximately $12 billion in loans annually, including more than $4 billion which he built and recruited. RATE ADDS DECORATED VET AND TOP-PRODUCING LOAN OFFICER Rate has added Brian Bloete, a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran and top-producing Loan Officer, to its team in Montville, New Jersey. Since joining the mortgage industry in 2016, Bloete has closed more than $250 million in loans. Known for delivering tailored financing solutions and guiding clients through com- plex lending decisions with confidence, Bloete brings a customer-first mindset and proven production to Rate's expanding Northeast footprint. "I moved to Rate to join a winning team, one with cutting-edge technology and product offerings that allow me to better serve every client," Bloete said. "This platform empowers me to provide personalized mortgage solutions that make a real difference for borrowers." Headquartered in Chicago, Rate has more than 850 branches across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Rate has helped more than two million homeowners with home purchase loans, refinances, and home equity loans. Service Providers PULTE FINANCIAL VICE CHAIR ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT PulteGroup Inc. has announced that Debra W. Still, CMB, Vice Chair of Pulte Financial Services, will retire at the end of 2025, concluding a 42-year career with the company. Still's remarkable tenure spans the transformation of both PulteGroup and the entire mortgage industry. Starting as a Branch Manager in 1983, she advanced through the company and the industry to become one of the most respected leaders in housing finance, serving as President of Pulte Mortgage starting in 2004, and ulti- mately as CEO of Pulte Financial Services from 2010 to 2023 before transitioning to her current role as Vice Chair. "Deb Still is one of the most respected leaders in our company and the broader housing-finance industry," said Ryan Mar- shall, PulteGroup President and CEO. "For more than four decades, she has embod- ied the very best of our company values. Deb has never shied away from difficult assignments, bringing fresh thinking to every challenge and always prioritizing our customers and colleagues above all else. Her impact extends far beyond our walls, as she has helped shape national housing policy and mentored countless profession- als across our industry." Under Still's leadership, Pulte Finan- cial Services expanded to encompass Pulte Mortgage LLC, PGP Title, and Pulte Insurance Agency, employing more than 1,100 individuals nationwide. Still's influence extends well beyond PulteGroup. She made history in 2013 as the second woman in 100-plus years to serve as Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and she testified before Congress on multiple occasions about crit- ical housing finance issues. She currently serves as Chairman of MBA's Opens Doors Foundation, which provides mortgage and rental payment assistance to families with critically ill or injured children. "Looking back on these four decades, what I'm most grateful for are the relationships made within Pulte and the broader industry. Colleagues who became lifelong friends, industry partners who shared our vision, regulators and Washington, D.C. decision makers, and of course the countless families and individ- uals we've had the privilege to serve," Still said. "Pulte gave me the chance to grow, to lead, and to make a real difference." Following her retirement from PulteGroup, Still will continue her board service with Chimera Investment Corporation, where she has served as a director since 2018, and Enact Holdings Inc., where she joined the board in 2021. She will also maintain her involvement in various housing industry organizations. Eric Hart, who was named President and CEO of Pulte Financial Services in 2023, will continue to lead the organization. NVR NAMES FORMER FREDDIE MAC CEO DEVITO TO ITS BOARD Homebuilder NVR Inc. has appointed Michael J. DeVito, former CEO and Executive Director of Freddie Mac, to its Board of Directors as an Independent Director. DeVito served as Freddie Mac CEO and Executive Director from 2021-2024. Before his tenure at Freddie Mac, DeVito spent 24 years at Wells Fargo & M O V E R S & S H A K E R S