Walker & Dunlop Adds FHA Lending CPO

Dana Wade, Chief Production Officer, Walker & Dunlop. Image courtesy of Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop has hired Dana Wade as chief production officer for all Federal Housing Administration-backed loan originations with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In her new role, Wade will also oversee the firm’s affordable housing platform.

Wade joined Walker & Dunlop from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she served as a Federal Housing Administration commissioner. She took on the position in July 2020, succeeding acting Commissioner Len Wolfson. Wade had also worked as FHA commissioner between July 2017 and June 2018. During her tenure, she implemented enhanced risk management for FHA’s $1.4 trillion portfolio and led more than 2,400 employees.

Prior to her FHA position, Wade served as associate director at the Office of Management and Budget, overseeing the budgets of six executive branch agencies with a focus on financial services, including HUD. In other previous roles, she was a deputy staff director for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and a deputy staff director for the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Wade earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Walker & Dunlop ranked second in our Top 20 mortgage banking firms of 2021, with $28 billion worth of multifamily originations. Chairman & CEO Willy Walker said, in a prepared statement, that the firm’s affordable housing lending activity has accounted for $17 billion during the past three years.