Secondary Market

Leads360, a leader in cloud-based intelligent sales automation solutions based in Los Angeles, announced the addition of industry vet Kelly Booth as director of the company's mortgage unit.

Effective immediately, Bank of Commerce Mortgage will be called simply Commerce Mortgage. According to a press release, the name change is consistent with the terms of the re-acquisition of 51 percent of the equity back from Bank of Commerce Holdings, which sold back the ownership position to the partners of Simonich Corporation, Scott Simonich and Mario De Tomasi.

Caldwell Partners released a new white paper addressing a crucial issue in the mortgage industry: the lack of knowledgeable leaders able to manage their business' new needs.

Los Angeles-based CBRE Group, Inc., once again earned top honors as the highest-ranked commercial real estate services and investment company in Fortune Magazine, the company announced. In addition, the firm was named the No. 1 commercial real estate brand in Lipsey Company's annual brand survey for the 12th consecutive occasion. The survey measures commercial real estate professionals' perceptions of the industry's leading brands.

The Los Angeles Times obtained more than 1,600 pages of FDIC settlements from 2007 through 2013 addressing a variety of behaviors (ranging from reckless lending to inflated appraisals). According to the report, many of these settlements went unannounced, sparing the institutions from negative attention. These "no-press-release arrangements" sometimes help FDIC close deals with defendants in the least costly manner possible.

After dipping into negative territory last month, consumer sentiment inched up in March, according to the Consumer Reports Index. The index's sentiment measure improved to 50.7 in March from a reading of 48.9 in February. The greatest improvement among income brackets was seen in lower-income households earning less than $50,000--that index climbed 3.7 points. Besides sentiment, the index report tracks consumer responses on four other key measures: financial troubles, stress, retail activity, and employment.

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), sat once again on Tuesday in front of the Senate Banking Committee, this time to present his case to continue leading the consumer agency. While some had expected a contentious round of questioning from Republicans critical of CFPB in its current form, the proceedings were generally cordial, with Cordray and commitee members agreeing to work together to maximize transparency and accountability at the bureau.

Avon, Connecticut's Norcom Mortgage welcomed Frank Haran to the team as VP of business development. Haran has worked in the industry for more than 30 years and served most recently as first EVP for McCue Mortgage in New Britain, Connecticut.

According to Fitch Ratings, prime RMBS mortgage pools issued since 2010 had an average conditional prepayment rate (CPR) of about 42 percent, more than twice as fast as the rates of outstanding prime loans securitized in earlier vintages. Generally speaking, Fitch explained high refinance activity tends lead to more "performance volatility" since loans remaining in mortgage pools are usually of poorer quality. However, Fitch is seeing a different trend this time around.

Mortgage Master, based in Walpole, Massachusetts, selected Karen Menza to lead the company's Midwest operation team as regional operations manager.