JPMorgan Chase Names Watters CEO of Mortgage Banking

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has named a new chief executive of mortgage banking as part of a broader plan to better align mortgage lending with its other consumer and retail initiatives.

The company announced Tuesday that Kevin Watters, who had been in charge of mortgage originations, has been named CEO of the entire mortgage operation. He will report to Gordon Smith, the CEO of its newly formed consumer and community banking division.

Watters replaces Frank Bisignano, who had headed mortgage banking since 2011 and was recently named co-chief operating officer of the company.

The $2.3 trillion-asset Chase announced over the summer that it was combining all of its consumer and small-business banking products and services into a one operating unit and its corporate and investment banking operations into another. The company said the move would provide investors with a clearer picture each group’s contribution to the bottom line. Also, by breaking down walls between the various retail groups the company hopes to increase opportunities to cross-sell.

Watters has been with JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor firms for 13 years. He has run mortgage originations and customer experience since 2010 and had previously been CEO of business banking.

In a news release, Bisignano said that Watters has been "one of the key architects" of the mortgage unit’s return to profitability. The unit that lost $1.9 billion in the third quarter of 2011 posted a record $2.9 billion profit in this year’s third quarter.

"This role is a natural expansion of his successful leadership of mortgage originations," Bisignano said.