Wells Fargo cements DeVito's role as head of home lending

Michael DeVito, who was named Wells Fargo's interim head of home lending after the bank fired consumer lending head Franklin Codel, is now officially leading the residential mortgage unit.

"Michael is a seasoned and respected leader, with deep experience in both mortgage sales and servicing," Mary Mack, head of community banking and consumer lending at Wells Fargo, said in a press release issued late Monday. "He has demonstrated the ability to manage large, complex operations, and he has a true passion for designing innovative experiences that support our customers' needs. I am confident that he is the right choice to lead the nation's premier mortgage lender into a bright future."

DeVito will continue to report to Mack, who was appointed to lead Wells Fargo's consumer lending and community banking businesses in December of last year following Codel's departure. Codel was fired over an improper discussion with a former employee about that employee's termination, according to the bank.

A member of the bank's home mortgage executive management team since 2011, DeVito ran the servicing department prior to being named head of the production unit in 2015. He was the head of default servicing when he initially became part of executive management.

DeVito has been at Wells Fargo for 22 years, worked in the financial services industry for 29 years and was known for being involved in some of home lending's early electronic business initiatives.

Before joining Wells Fargo, DeVito managed retail home equity for Norwest Corp., a lender that merged with Wells and rebranded its operations under Wells' name in 2000.