Jersey Shore State Bank, a subsidiary of Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc., was recognized by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) for its 2013 performance. The bank's mortgage services division received a high producer ranking of PHFA loans in Pennsylvania, top lender in PHFA HOMEstead loans, and the top producer of new PHFA construction loans.

A new survey put out by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that consumer expectations rose slightly in March, and home price change expectations declined slightly. The bank's findings from the Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) found that consumer expectations both rose at the one-year and three-year horizon by 3.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

George Lopez has joined the RE/MAX Associates of Dallas as the newest member of its sales team. Lopez has the eNetworking Specialist Designation.

George Demopulos, president and chief valuation officer for Lincoln Appraisal & Settlement Services (LASS) has accepted a two-year term on a subcommittee for the Appraisal Subcommittee. Demopulos will serve as a representative member on the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) Advisory Committee for Development of Regulations.

HOPE NOW, a private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and non-profit counselors, released its February 2014 loan modification data. The group reported that an estimated 42,000 homeowners received permanent modifications in the month, including modifications from proprietary programs and the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced that four men—Sean Cutting, Brian Melland, Bijan Madjlessi, David Lonich—have been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, false statements to a bank, false bank entries, and obstruction of justice.

Delinquency rates on recently issued U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) remain nearly zero after the first post-crisis transaction was completed, according to a new report issued by Fitch Ratings.

After a long, dreary winter, the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) pointed towards signs of renewed optimism in the 13-county Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Seller activity rose 5.5 percent to roughly 6,500 newly listed homes in March. Although inventory remains near a 10-year low, the group believes consumers should have more options this year compared to recent years.

A release issued Thursday by the Federal Deposit Insurance (FDIC) urged financial institutions to "actively utilize available resources to identify and help mitigate potential cyber-related risks." The timing of the release is particularly germane, considering the recently discovered Heartbleed bug which affects almost two-thirds of the web, as well as recent cyber-attacks on industry giant Ellie Mae.

Associa, North America's largest community management services firm, announced the hiring of Billy Rudolph as director of corporate communication. Rudolph will work along-side the Director of Events & Corporate Citizenship, Rachel Bedford and the Manager of Government Affairs, Kristen Doe.