While the Senate Banking Committee voted to back Ben Bernanke's second term as Federal Reserve chairman in December, the Senate as a whole must vote on this issue before January 31, and some are worried this looming deadline won't be met. As DSNews.

In an announcement Friday, Farmington Hills, Michigan-based Level One Bank said it has named David C. Walker as EVP and CFO of the company. In his new position, Walker will be responsible for all treasury, accounting, finance, investments, asset/liability management, information technology, real estate, and bank security matters.

The real estate market is swimming with foreclosures in states like Arizona and Nevada, and banks are aggressively discounting these properties at auctions to move them off the books. As a result, distressed properties are becoming some of the most sought after homes for buyers, according to Hudson & Marshall of Texas, Inc.(H&M), a foreclosure auction firm.

Providing an unequalled level of consultative support for clients, Trust Title Company, a national provider of title and settlement services headquartered in Maitland, Florida, helps major lenders, asset managers, and investors save time and money by identifying, negotiating, and resolving lien issues to efficiently close on the sale of non-performing loans.

In an announcement Wednesday, Fraser, Michigan-based zipLogix, the creator of the real estate contract software zipForm, said it has released zipForm 6 to its large, well-established user base.

In an effort to stabilize neighborhoods and rebuild local economies, HUD secretary Shawn Donovan announced Thursday that HUD is awarding $2 billion in grants to states, local governments, and nonprofit housing developers under its Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

Freddie Mack's recently released economic outlook describes a refreshingly brighter view of the year ahead, but the pace of recovery in the forecast is well below the growth following most recessions in the past half-century.

In an announcement Friday, Webster Financial Corporation, the holding company for Webster Bank, N.A., said Theresa M. Messina has joined the company as chief accounting officer. In her new position, Messina will serve as the company's principal accounting officer and have responsibility for all accounting and treasury operations.

California foreclosure activity plummeted in December, especially when looked at on a daily average basis, according to the monthly California Foreclosure Report released by ForeclosureRadar, a Website devoted to tracking every California foreclosure. Notices of default dropped 17.

The membership of the Title/Appraisal Vendor Management Association (TAVMA) has developed Standards of Good Practice in Appraisal Management, the association announced Wednesday. These standards outline best practices to help ensure that appraisal management companies (AMCs) and appraisers deliver quality, objective valuations to financial institutions.