Frank Cassidy Returns to Walker & Dunlop as Senior Managing Director

Frank Cassidy, former Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner, has returned to Walker & Dunlop as a senior managing director. This move follows his recent resignation from the FHA, where he also served as assistant secretary for housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). At Walker & Dunlop, Cassidy will focus on advising clients on FHA and government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) financing strategies, assisting owners, developers, lenders, and investors in navigating federal housing policy and capital markets.

Cassidy joined HUD in April 2025, overseeing the agency's housing programs and managing the FHA's substantial mortgage insurance portfolio, valued at approximately $2 trillion. This portfolio encompasses single-family, multifamily, and health care loans, supporting over 8 million homeowners, around 1.5 million renters, and nearly 4,000 health care facilities. During his leadership, the FHA implemented several key policy changes, including a reduction in multifamily mortgage insurance premiums to 25 basis points, the elimination of the Green Mortgage Insurance Premium category and its associated reporting, and the simplification of multifamily mortgage insurance programs.

Further initiatives under Cassidy's direction included the launch of the Section 232 Express Lane to streamline financing applications for residential health care facilities. He also oversaw the modernization of the FHA's single-family loss-mitigation waterfall and HUD's adoption of the VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T credit-scoring models. Additionally, Cassidy managed HUD's Multifamily Assisted Housing Portfolio, which serves more than 1.2 million low-income residents, alongside the agency's housing counseling program and manufactured housing construction standards. Cassidy stated that his time at HUD provided an opportunity to influence housing policy during a significant period for the nation.