DALLAS, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mary Pirrello, vice president of Southwest Securities, FSB, has been selected as one of four James M. Wooten Scholarship recipients by the Future Mortgage Leaders (FML) of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association.

The James M. Wooten Scholarship is focused on developing new leaders by advancing their education through the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Future Mortgage Leaders program. Recipients participate in a series of educational seminars and a project concentrating on community development, decision-making, and leadership.

"We are very proud of the recognition Mary Pirrello has received from the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association," said David Frase, executive vice president of Southwest Securities, FSB. "Mary is a top producer in our Mortgage Purchase Program, and we already think of her as a leader in her field. Others will benefit from her efforts in both the national and Texas mortgage bankers associations."

Ms. Pirrello joined Southwest Securities, FSB in February 2007. As vice president and regional relationship manager for the bank's Mortgage Purchase Program, she is responsible for managing customer relationships in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. She recently completed a two-year stint as Chair of the Texas Mortgage Bankers' Membership Committee and will begin as Chair of the association's PAC Committee this month.

Also named as scholarship recipients were Dawn Robinson, senior vice president, national production, Prime Lending; Amy Coke, director of business development, Polunsky & Beitel, LLP, and Jodi Morgan, account executive, CitiMortgage.

The FML committee members work to build new relationships with peers in the real estate finance profession and encourage the growth of mortgage bankers as future leaders of the association and the mortgage lending industry.

Southwest Securities, FSB, one of the largest banks headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, was established in 1986 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of financial services company SWS Group, Inc. (NYSE: SWS) in 2000. Based in Texas, the bank conducts relationship banking across the southwestern United States and is involved in all areas of lending, from commercial loans and residential construction loans to nationwide mortgage warehouse lending. Southwest Securities, FSB offers a variety of commercial banking services designed to help businesses grow and communities prosper.

SOURCE SWS Group, Inc.