Sabal Financial Group, L.P., the financial services management firm formerly known as Milestone Asset Resolution Company, said this week that it recently acquired a $153 million portfolio from a major Midwest retail bank. The portfolio includes more than 100 loans, both performing and nonperforming, and is primarily secured by retail, office, and industrial properties, and land. Sabal will provide loan servicing and asset management for the portfolio.

FICO announced this week that it has inked deals with four of the country's top 10 mortgage servicers to provide them with its predictive analytics technology to identify borrowers who pose the greatest risk of strategic default. Studies conducted by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business indicate that roughly 35 percent of mortgage defaults are strategic, and FICO estimates this makes strategic defaults more than a $20 billion problem annually.

JPMorgan Chase used its third-quarter earnings call with investors Thursday to rein in expectations about when a mortgage servicing settlement might be reached with state officials. CEO Jamie Dimon described the settlement talks as ""getting bogged down"" because of the many varying demands of each of the state attorneys general. Dimon said he thinks it'd be good for everyone involved to come to an agreement and move on, but he was quick to add, only if the settlement is ""reasonable.""

The run for below-four-percent 30-year mortgage rates was short-lived. After a history-making drop to 3.94 percent last week, Freddie Mac has recorded an 18 basis point jump in the average interest rate on a conventional fixed-rate mortgage with a 30-year term. Mortgage rates across the board rose sharply this week. Freddie Mac attributes the sudden upward movement to last Friday's better-than-expected employment report, but the GSE stressed that even with the increases, mortgage rates remain near their 60-year lows.

Keystone Asset Management Inc., a national provider of REO, default management, and property valuation services, announced last week the retirement of co-founder Nick Salamone. The announcement comes as part of a requested transition for Salamone as he begins to focus on new consulting developments and business ventures. Co-founder Jane Hennessy assumed the role of CEO and president earlier this year so that plans for a smooth transition could be made, the company explained.

RealtyTrac says foreclosure filings were reported on 610,337 properties in the third quarter of this year. That translates to one in every 213 homes with a filing during the three-month period. The third-quarter tally represents an increase of less than 1 percent from the previous quarter, but it breaks a trend of three consecutive quarterly declines that started late last year. RealtyTrac says it looks as though foreclosure activity is about to do an about-face from the falloff that set in after the robo-signing controversy.

Market watchers have their eyes peeled for word from Washington that officials will relax the rules of a government refinancing program to allow underwater homeowners with GSE-backed loans to take out new mortgages with lower interest rates. President Obama promised just over a month ago that a new and improved Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) would soon be unveiled, but lawmakers are growing impatient. A bipartisan group of senators has sent letters to the heads of four federal agencies calling for ""immediate"" action.

Associates Closing & Title has been presented the Award of Excellence from First American Title Insurance Company. The award was given based on exemplary turn-around time, high number of files closed, and handling title curative matters. Associates Closing & Title has been offering its real estate services to the state of Arkansas since 1991, and to the state of Tennessee since 1995.

Continental REO (CREO) recently named Chrystal Streicher to fill its newly-created lead auction specialist position. Streicher has nine years of industry experience, including more than four years with CREO. Streicher began her career at Netco as a title examiner, working her way up to title supervisor in just three years. She then served as a closing assistant for Southern Title Services in Nashville, Tennessee.

Florida-based eMASON, Inc., developer of the Clarifire business process automation software for the financial services industry, has unveiled the Clarifire Community. The Clarifire Community portal allows borrowers, servicers, investors, title agents, real estate agents, regulators, and other mortgage industry players to come together via a single platform to synchronize activities relating to mortgage loans, while ensuring compliance with federal regulations such as single point of contact and borrower communications.