Jesse Loomis has been promoted to VP of business development at Bid4Assets. In this position, Loomis is responsible for overseeing Bid4Assets’ private real estate business, including client relations, strategic partnerships, and management of the business development team.

On Monday, the Treasury Department unveiled the details of its Public-Private Investment Fund aimed at removing bad mortgages from banks’ books and the secondary market. This new prong of the administration’s Financial Recovery Plan is intended to improve liquidity and restart lending.

NIR Credit Partners LLC, an alternative asset manager and structured finance advisor based in North Carolina, is expanding its portfolio valuation services for residential mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to provide investors with a customized solution that includes in-depth analytics for illiquid mortgage-related assets.

Existing-home sales increased in February, reversing losses in January, according to a new report released on Monday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Even so, NAR said, sales activity remains relatively soft, reflecting additional layoffs and buyers waiting for housing provisions in the economic stimulus package to take effect.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank purchased $20 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from government agencies last week. Total MBS purchases since the Fed program began in early January now stands at $237 billion.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday laid out details of its plan to alleviate the toxic mortgage assets weighing heavy on banks’ balance sheets – the fiscal burdens that many argue sent the entire national financial system into its headlong tailspin.

Throwing out the traditional business-to-business model of buying and selling mortgage debt notes, Newport Beach, California-based BigBidder.com, is exposing this widely undiscovered investment opportunity to a broader scope of investors.

Irvine, California-based real estate auction company Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC) announced on Thursday the launch of a new division: REDC Default Solutions. The new business group will focus on loss mitigation, REO asset management, and asset valuation for lenders and financial institutions.

Compelled by the AIG bonus scandal making headlines this week, on Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 328 to 93 to institute a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid by any bank or financial institution that owes the government more than $5 billion in federal bailout money.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS), a provider of technology and services to the mortgage industry, has released the results of a recent study that reveals the impact of foreclosure, or REO, sales on home prices.