Dominion Bond Rating Service today announced the appointment of Steven Picarillo as senior vice president in its U.S. Financial Institutions Group.

Based in New York, Picarillo will be responsible for performing credit analyses on both consumer and commercial finance companies, which include mortgage and auto lenders, commercial real estate, and other specialized finance companies. In addition, he will be participating in the development and refinement of criteria for rating finance companies.

“I am very pleased Steve has joined our team,” said Alan Reid, managing director for DBRS’s U.S. FIG, in a release. “Steve will be the foundation for building a strong non-bank financial institution business for DBRS. His experience and expertise in analyzing and rating finance companies make him a valuable addition to our team.”

Picarillo joins DBRS from Standard & Poor’s, where he spent seven years, most recently as director, financial services, corporate & government ratings. In that capacity, he performed credit analyses for consumer, commercial, leasing, and specialty finance companies. Prior to that, he was a residential servicing manager with a New York-based mortgage banker.