The Collingwood Group recently announced that Tom Cronin has joined the firm as a managing director. In his new role, Cronin will lead the Collingwood Group's secondary market initiatives. He will support the firm's ongoing efforts helping clients navigate the business opportunities that exist in Washington and the housing finance industry.

Freddie Mac has rolled out a new standard for mortgage modifications that the GSE says will strengthen servicers' ability to support positive outcomes for financially distressed borrowers. It replaces Freddie Mac's classic modification. The ""Standard Modification"" is available to borrowers who don't qualify for the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and includes a trial period to help reduce re-default rates. It is part of the Servicing Alignment Initiative underway at the two GSEs.

Safeguard Properties recently announced two key promotions within its management team. Kathy Cogan has been promoted to the new position of assistant vice president of account management, reporting directly to Safeguard CEO Alan Jaffa. Bryan Moledor has been promoted to director of REO account management in the expanded account management and customer service department within the REO service line.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) appointed the FDIC receiver of the First National Bank of Florida late Friday evening, making it the 71st FDIC-insured institution to go under this year. The OCC said it acted after finding that the bank ""had experienced substantial dissipation of assets and earnings due to unsafe or unsound practices."" CharterBank out of Georgia agreed to take over the failed bank's operations.

President Obama's speech introducing his new Jobs Act included a pledge to refinance millions of home mortgages. Documents released since then by the White House and a key housing regulator reveal that the government-led refi push will indeed center around an overhaul of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The administration says it intends to remove the barriers that exist in the current program to allow more borrowers to qualify as long as they have a history of making their payments on time.

The Wolf Firm recently announced that it has added Dana L. Ozols, Esq. to its team as the newest associate attorney in the firm's litigation department. The firm describes Ozols as ""an accomplished attorney"" with a strong background in business and commercial litigation. She received her Juris Doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law.

The Federal Reserve has published a new rendition of its market-gauging Beige Book, which indicates economic activity across the country is expanding at only a modest pace. Residential real estate markets were described as ""weak"" overall, however, a few districts did report slight improvements. Markets in the New York district are seeing an increasing share of foreign buyers paying cash. Florida contacts report a rise in sales activity but a decline in bank-owned homes.

Data released this week by the market research firm Trepp LLC shows that the percentage of loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) paying off on their balloon date came in at just under 40 percent last month. In August, 39.5 percent of the loan balances reaching their maturity date were settled in full. The figure barely budged from 39.6 percent the previous month. Trepp says prior to 2008, payoff percentages were typically well north of 70 percent.

Housing got only a brief mention in President Obama's highly anticipated jobs speech Thursday night, but it was a pledge that some pundits say is a step in the right direction. Others say it's likely to have little impact. Obama told Congress his administration will work to refinance millions of homeowners' mortgages at today's record-low rates. It's expected the program will give borrowers who are underwater or have bad marks on their credit the opportunity to take out lower-rate, lower-payment loans.

Industry data released Thursday show borrowing costs for home loans falling to new lows, slipping further from what was already reported as the lowest level for mortgage interest rates in more than a half-century. Economists attribute the continuing declines to ongoing employment concerns and economic uncertainty, as well as the debt crisis in Europe pushing investors to the safe haven of U.S. Treasury bonds. Freddie Mac now puts the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4.12 percent and the 15-year rate at 3.33 percent.