Mark Elbaum
PennyMac Financial ServicesAbout Mark Elbaum
Senior Managing Director and Chief Capital Markets Officer (CCMO) at PennyMac Financial Services (PFSI). Age 62. Joined PFSI in April 2023 (Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives), assumed interim CCMO responsibilities in October 2024, and was appointed CCMO in February 2025. Responsibilities include development/execution of investment strategies, secondary marketing, servicing asset valuation, hedging, and capital markets execution with the GSEs. Education: M.A. in Accounting, University of Southern California; Certified Public Accountant .
Company performance context during his tenure: FY2024 net income $311.4M; ROE 8.5%; total loan production $116.3B; servicing UPB $665.8B; Say‑on‑Pay support at 99% in 2024 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| PFSI | Senior Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives → Interim CCMO → CCMO | 2023 → Oct 2024 → Feb 2025 | Led capital markets functions including hedging, secondary marketing, servicing asset valuation, and GSE execution . |
| Home Point Financial | Chief Financial Officer | 2020–2023 | Senior mortgage operator with CFO oversight (finance, capital allocation) . |
| Marlette Funding, LLC | Chief Financial Officer | 2018–2020 | Consumer finance platform CFO . |
| Merrill Lynch (Bank of America Wealth Mgmt) | Chief Financial Officer | 2011–2017 | Large-scale wealth management finance leadership . |
| Bank of America – Mortgage Lending | Chief Financial Officer | (not dated) | Mortgage lending CFO responsibilities . |
| Countrywide Financial – Residential Lending Division | Chief Financial Officer | (not dated) | Division CFO responsibilities . |
External Roles
- No public company directorships or external board roles disclosed for Mr. Elbaum .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Design | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | Market-based; individual amounts disclosed for Named Executive Officers (NEOs) only (CEO $1.1M; others vary). Mr. Elbaum’s salary not individually disclosed for 2024 | 2024 NEO base salary decisions shown; Elbaum was not a 2024 NEO . |
| Benefits & Perqs | Standard health/welfare; limited perqs (tax/financial counseling for some NEOs) | Program detail in proxy; perqs limited and business-rationalized –. |
| Ownership Guidelines | CEO 5x salary; other executive officers 3x salary (to be met within 5 years) | Applies across executive officers; overseen annually . |
| Trading Policy | Preclearance required; trading generally limited to open windows; 10b5‑1 plans allowed in window; hedging/pledging prohibited | Company-wide policy (applies to officers) . |
Performance Compensation
PFSI’s executive incentive architecture (applies to executive officers; 2024 outcomes shown for NEOs as benchmark):
| Plan Element | Metric/Design | Weighting | FY2024 Target | FY2024 Actual | FY2024 Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Incentive – Financial | Return on Equity (ROE) | 70% | 15% ROE = 100% payout | 8.5% ROE | 52.6% of target for ROE component . |
| Annual Incentive – Strategic | Individual strategic objectives | 30% | 100% for target | Company summary achieved | 150% for strategic component . |
| Annual Incentive – Total | Weighted | 100% | — | — | 81.8% of target (NEO average) . |
| Long‑Term Incentive (LTI) – PSUs | 3‑yr performance shares; primary metric ROE; leverage ratio multiplier (50–120%); individual effectiveness (0–100%); max 300% | 50% of LTI | Target ROE 15% (2024–2026) | In‑flight | Design parameters updated in 2024 . |
| Long‑Term Incentive (LTI) – RSUs | Time‑based RSUs (3‑yr ratable vesting) | 25% of LTI | — | Ongoing | Annual grants; vesting schedule as stated . |
| Long‑Term Incentive (LTI) – Stock Options | 3‑yr ratable vesting; 10‑yr term | 25% of LTI | — | Ongoing | Annual grants; vesting schedule as stated . |
Additional context: 2022 PSU awards (three‑year period ending 12/31/2024) forfeited at 0% due to below‑threshold ROE attainment (8.8%) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership | Mr. Elbaum is not individually listed in the Security Ownership table as of 3/31/2025; named executive and director holdings disclosed for others. None of the disclosed shares for executives/directors were pledged . |
| Pledging/Hedging | Company prohibits pledging, margining, short sales, and hedging for officers/directors . |
| Ownership Guidelines | 3x salary for executive officers; 5x for CEO (5‑year compliance window; annual monitoring) . |
| Trading Controls | Preclearance required; trading windows; Rule 10b5‑1 plans permitted only during open windows . |
Employment Terms
| Topic | Company Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Individual employment agreement | Only CEO (Spector) and President/CMBO (Jones) have individual employment agreements disclosed; other executives managed under company programs –. |
| Change‑of‑Control (CoC) | Change of Control Severance Plan covers named executive officers without individual agreements: 2x base salary + 200% of bonus; accelerated vesting (time‑based full; performance‑based at target if unassumed and not otherwise continued), 18 months medical and outplacement, double‑trigger construct via qualifying termination post‑CoC . |
| Equity on CoC | If awards are not assumed/continued, equity plans provide for full vesting of time‑based and pro‑rata treatment for performance awards per plan terms; if assumed, no single‑trigger vesting . |
| Non‑solicit/Non‑compete | Non‑solicit specifics disclosed for CEO/President (18 months) in their agreements; not otherwise specified for other executives . |
| Clawbacks | SEC‑compliant clawback for Section 16 officers (3‑year lookback for restatements); separate clawback for Senior Managing Directors (like CCMO) . |
| Deferred Compensation | Executive Deferred Compensation Plan adopted 6/4/2024 permitting deferrals of base, bonus, RSUs/PSUs (unfunded; rabbi trust framework) –. |
Investment-Linked and Risk Controls
- Best‑practice features include heavy weighting to performance‑based equity, multiple financial metrics (ROE, leverage), robust stock ownership, no single‑trigger equity vesting if awards are assumed, no excise tax gross‑ups, and no option repricing without shareholder approval .
- Insider policies prohibit hedging/pledging and mandate preclearance and window trading, limiting unintended selling pressure .
Performance & Track Record (Company Context)
| Measure | FY2023 | FY2024 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Income | $144.7M | $311.4M | Significant YoY improvement; balanced model cited as driver . |
| ROE | 4.1% | 8.5% | Below 15% target in 2024, driving sub‑target annual bonus factor . |
| Total Production (UPB) | — | $116.3B | Scale supports servicing growth . |
| Servicing UPB | — | $665.8B | 10% YoY growth . |
| Pay vs Performance – TSR (Value of $100) | — | $319.4 | PFSI TSR value as disclosed in Pay‑Versus‑Performance table . |
Compensation Committee & Peer Group (Benchmarking)
- Committee: Chair Farhad Nanji; members Anne D. McCallion, Jeffrey A. Perlowitz; Pearl Meyer serves as independent consultant; no identified conflicts .
- Peer group used for competitive pay benchmarking includes mortgage/finance comps (e.g., Mr. Cooper, Rocket, UWM, Radian, Essent, Zillow, Walker & Dunlop, etc.) –.
Say‑on‑Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- Say‑on‑Pay support: 2022: 98.7%; 2023: 82.6%; 2024: 99.0% .
- Feedback informed 2024 design updates (wider ROE payout range, leverage multiplier cap at 120%, continued ROE focus) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment/retention: As a Senior Managing Director and CCMO, Mr. Elbaum is subject to robust ownership guidelines (3x salary), anti‑pledging/hedging, and clawbacks—favorable for alignment and risk control .
- Incentive sensitivity: Company‑wide incentives tie heavily to ROE with multi‑year PSU leverage and individual multipliers; if servicing/production returns re‑accelerate, PSU leverage can amplify realized pay; conversely, below‑threshold ROE (as in the 2022–2024 PSU cycle) can zero out vesting, muting realized equity pay –.
- Turnover risk: No individual employment agreement is disclosed for Mr. Elbaum; if designated an NEO without a separate agreement, he would fall under the company’s CoC severance framework upon a qualifying termination—providing some protection but less certainty than bespoke contracts .
- Trading/supply overhang: Insider trading controls and anti‑pledging reduce forced‑sale risk; equity vesting (3‑year ratable for RSUs/options; 3‑year cliff for PSUs) staggers potential supply, though lumpiness can still occur around vest dates – .
- Execution: The role centralizes hedging, secondary execution, and servicing asset valuation. FY2024 improvement in earnings and servicing scale supports the platform Mr. Elbaum now leads; continued delivery on ROE targets is the primary lever for incentive realization and signal of execution quality –.