Servicing

MBA Education, an educational initiative launched by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), presented E. Michael Rosser, CMB, with its inaugural MBA Education Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a diversified mortgage services company operating in Dallas, was named for the second straight year in Inc. Magazine's Hire Power Awards, a list of the top 100 businesses in America for job creation.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) started off its 100th Annual Convention Sunday with the election and swearing-in of its board of directors for the 2014 membership year.

Fay Servicing announced the launch of an initiative to create strategic partnerships with mortgage lenders and help train originators for careers in servicing.

Alliant National Title Insurance Company, a title insurance underwriter that partners with independent agents, announced the hiring of Katherine Kitty Stevens, Esq. as VP of Florida agent training and business development.

Platinum Data Solutions, a technology provider specializing in collateral evaluation and quality, has launched all-new upgraded scoring functionality for RealView, its configurable engine that processes and analyzes appraisals for compliance and completeness.

Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS) announced that Paul Lee has been named CFO.

ValuTrac Software, a software solutions provider to the appraisal management and mortgage lending industry, announced the hiring of David Yavorsky as the company's new CIO.

Now that most of the nation's biggest mortgage players have put out their earnings numbers for the third quarter, investment bank FBR Capital Markets says its mortgage banking forecasts--$1.6 billion for 2013 originations followed by $1.4 billion in 2014--are still well within reach. Examining the reports, FBR says the third quarter was a case of "more of the same, with anemic loan growth ... weak mortgage banking, and lack of top-line expansion as the more notable items."

According to RE/MAX's National Housing Report for September, closed transactions fell 18.5 percent month-over-month, following the trend that usually occurs as summer passes into autumn. Year-over-year, sales increased 10.7 percent, making September the 27th consecutive month in which sales rose on an annual basis. The company also reported a slowdown in the rate of inventory decline. Compared to September 2012, inventories were down 13.4 percent, bringing the month supply to 5.0 at the current sales pace.