Cris deRitis Deputy Chief Economist Moody's

Cristian deRitis, Deputy Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics, specializes in assessing the economy’s impact on household finance, housing, credit markets and public policy. Named on two U.S. patents for credit modeling, he created loss forecasting and stress testing systems for financial institutions. He joined Moody’s in 2008, after serving as a director with Fannie Mae. He also was an adjunct professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University.

John Toohig Head of Whole Loan Trading Raymond James

John Toohig is a Managing Director at Raymond James, a Board Member and President of Raymond James Mortgage Company, Inc and Head of the Whole Loan Group.

John joined Raymond James (formerly Morgan Keegan) in September of 2006. As manager of the Whole Loan Group, John’s primary responsibilities include day-to-day trading of whole loan packages, portfolio analysis, transaction management and the structuring of whole loan, participation and various structured products. John’s product focus encompasses both seasoned and new production: residential mortgages (both QM and Non-QM), commercial mortgages, consumer lending, fintech lending, scratch and dent loans, and non-performing assets. Prior to joining the Whole Loan group at Raymond James, John was a part of the firm’s Taxable Banking platform where he was responsible for corporate debt transactions, trust preferred securities, sale leaseback transactions and ABS transactions.

Beyond his daily trading responsibilities, John is a regular speaker and content creator for various lending-related conferences and publications. He has presented at most of the major lending conferences including MBA National Secondary, SFIG Vegas / ABS West, CUNA Lending and more, and his commentary has also been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, HousingWire and DebtWire. In 2020, John contributed a chapter to “The CECL Handbook A Practitioner’s Guide” entitled “Data Collision: Efficient Lending Under CECL” which dives deep into the impact of the new accounting regulation’s impact on lending. John has created an active following on LinkedIn with regular posts and articles surrounding community lending, providing both lenders and investors with timely commentary on current trends and happenings in the primary and secondary loan markets. In addition, he showcases new lending products, technology, and credit tools as the market constantly evolves.

Mr. Toohig received his undergraduate degree from the Houghton College and his MBA from the University of Mississippi with a focus in finance and IT. John has his Series 7, 24 and Series 63 licenses. His community involvement includes currently serving as Member of the Board of Trustees for St. Agnes Academy / St. Dominic School. He is also a former chairman for both the Lafayette and DeSoto county American Cancer Society Relay for Life events and the former president of the Ole Miss MBA Alumni Board. John resides in Memphis, TN with his wife Sha, and his two daughters, Helen Grace and Cressey, while he works in Raymond James’ east Memphis branch.

Cas Lane Director in Fixed Income Research Raymond James

Cas Lane serves as a Director in Fixed Income Research on the Mortgage-Backed Securities Trading Desk. He works with depository institutions, insurance companies and total return managers to determine relative value in mortgage securities and to develop investment portfolio and earnings enhancement strategies.

Cas was hired in 2012 by our Portfolio Accounting department where he had hands-on exposure to a broad spectrum of investment sectors and handled the sometimes confusing accounting metrics used for these products. Cas moved to his current role as co-head of MBS research in 2015.

Cas is a graduate of Georgetown College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Political Science.

Cas holds the following professional licenses: Series 7 - General Securities Representative and Series 63--Uniform Securities Agent State Law.