PHH Corp. names new CEO

PHH Corp., a Mount Laurel company with mortgage banking and fleet management units, abruptly named a new chief executive officer Wednesday, two weeks after Standard & Poor's downgraded PHH's credit rating.

Glen Messina replaced Jerome Selitto, who became CEO of PHH in October 2009, after a period of turmoil at the company during which dissident investors ousted PHH's top two managers at the time, chairman A.B. Krongard and CEO Terence W. Edwards.

Messina, 50, joined PHH as chief operating officer in July after a career at General Electric Co., where he was most recently CEO of GE Chemical & Monitoring Solutions. His previous jobs at GE included chief executive and chief financial officer at GE's mortgage services business.

Jim Egan, chairman of the PHH board of directors, said Messina was the right man to lead the company, which employs 2,300 in Mount Laurel, under the current difficult circumstances.

"The prolonged uncertainty and volatility in the global economy and capital markets, along with a U.S. housing market that remains challenging, requires an emphasis on liquidity and cash generation over growth in the near term," Egan said.

PHH's troubles started last month even before S&P questioned whether PHH would be able to repay $423 million of unsecured debt maturing in March 2013 exclusively with cash from operations.

On Dec. 2, PHH canceled a $250 million offering of seven-year notes, saying that it might return to the market "when market conditions are reasonable." A week later, PHH sold $100 million of 9.25 percent bonds due March 2016 in an add-on to an August 2010 issue.

After the S&P downgrade to "BB-" from "BB+" on Dec. 21, PPH's shares fell nearly 20 percent over the next two days, to $10.52 from $13.02. They have since recovered slightly, closing Wednesday at $11.37 on the New York Stock Exchange.

PHH provides mortgage lending services to the customers of other financial firms, including new clients Ameriprise, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley Private Bank.