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California-based Landmark Mortgage Group marked another success Tuesday as it announced its expansion to a new branch, its fourth in less than two years, according to a statement. As part of the expansion, Landmark Mortgage will also hire new manager Linda LaGrasso, a Brentwood native, and mortgage advisor Kathy Mertens.

After threatening to shut down mortgage insurance operations at The PMI Group, Inc., the Arizona Department of Insurance made good by issuing an order that forced the company to cease writing new mortgage policies, effective Friday. PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., the division responsible for mortgage insurance, shut down two of its units in response. A June 30 financial statement signaling a $329-million net loss, coupled with $574 million in incurred losses, alerted the department to approximately $320 million in policy holder deficits.

To stave off the financial crisis, the Fed supplied the biggest Wall Street firms with $1.2 trillion in funds, an amount that overshadows the more public transfer of funds from TARP, Bloomberg News reported.

Four banks walked the line to failure over the weekend, raising the bank collapse figure to 68 on the heels of increased public scrutiny by lawmakers over bank failures. Illinois-based First Choice Bank, Georgia-based First Southern National Bank, Florida-based Lydian Private Bank, and Pennsylvania-based Public Savings Bank all left the table, leaving the FDIC to foot the whopping $374.8-million bill. The FDIC found itself playing the familiar role of receiver in all four loss-share transactions by other banks.

Accenture is planning to acquire Zenta as part of the company├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós ongoing efforts to bolster its mortgage lending and servicing operations. The terms of the transaction have not been released, but Accenture has confirmed its intention to debut a new division targeting consulting, technology, and BPO offerings.

While the economy at large and market skewer, loan volume origination may ride a wave of refinance applications and low mortgage rates into 2011, according to a forecast by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A $50 million mortgage fraud scheme, bank fraud by a title agency, mortgage Ponzi scheme by a former Republican chairwoman, and trouble for an alleged ring of scamming lawyers helped round out a week in mortgage fraud and demonstrate that sham loans are alive and well across the nation. A flurry of lawsuits, indictments, guilty pleas, and sentences awaited alleged and convicted schemers alike. The trouble arrived on the heels of a fresh Federal Bureau of Investigation report that recorded a spike in mortgage fraud activity over 2010.

Despite the rash of research and news reports about consumers staying wary of new purchases, some markets are seeing first-time homebuyers run to take advantage of historically low prices and mortgage rates, particularly in government-backed mortgage programs, according to a research note from Credit Suisse. The research firm said that the scramble to scoop up new properties occurred particularly among state and federal programs. The research note questioned whether builders will continue with current valuations.

Over July, home prices fell 0.18 percent lower than over the month before, following a four-month upshot, according to a RE/MAX national housing report released Friday. RE/MAX said that 11 metropolitan areas around the country also registered higher prices in July than over the same period last year. RE/MAX said that homes lasted on the market for a total of some 88 days, starting with the initial listing to the receipt for a sale. The company chalked up the number of months' inventory supply to 7.2.

Elizabeth Warren is moving closer to confirming her 2012 Senate bid. The controversial professor-turned-politico took formal, exploratory actions in Massachusetts recently, indicating that Warren's rumored plans to run for office are more than speculation. Officially developing an exploratory campaign committee, Warren has also initiated a donation website, elizabethforma.com, and she seems to be the likely liberal candidate vying to unseat Republican Sen. Scott Brown next November.