The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Wednesday that it has charged global investment bank and brokerage firm Jefferies LLC with "failing to supervise employees on its mortgage-backed securities desk who were lying to customers about pricing."

Sarah Bloom Raskin was confirmed by the United States Senate today to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Previously, Raskin was confirmed in 2010 by the Senate to serve as a Governor of the Board of the Federal Reserve where she helped conduct the nation’s monetary policy, regulate banking institutions, and implement Wall Street Reform.

Potestivo & Associates, P.C. announced the hiring of Nicole Kolhagen as the Director of Human Resources. She will work out of the Rochester Hills office. Kolhagen is an experienced Human Resources professional with over 18 years of experience. She most recently served as a Benefits Administrator for a local public school system where she was responsible for all benefit programs for over 500 employees.

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and four of its member organizations announced new evidence of housing discrimination by U.S. Bank, N.A. The civil rights groups allege that U.S. Bank maintains and markets foreclosed homes in white neighborhoods, in "a much better manner than in African-American and Latino neighborhoods," according to a press release issued by the NFHA.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Dallas/Fort Worth appointed Frank Obringer as president. Sue Meyer, the brokerage's president since 2007, will transition her responsibilities over the next several months and then retire.

Bank of America filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), alerting the TWC of impending layoffs in three of the bank's North Texas offices. The notice was sent on March 3, detailing layoffs of 114 workers from two offices in Plano, Texas and one in Richardson, Texas.

A report issued by the Wells Fargo Economics Group noted that California lost 31,600 jobs in January—the largest single-month decline in over four years. Non-farm payrolls declined .2 percent during the month of January. The decline from December, 2013 to January, 2014 was the largest one month drop since September, 2009.

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) released a new report, revealing sales of distressed homes have plummeted in the past five years. In January, 2009, 69.5 percent of all homes sold in California were distressed, which included short sales and real estate-owned properties (REO). The report issued Monday noted that five years later, distressed home sales made up only 15.6 percent of sold homes.

DocuTech announced Monday that COO, Scott K. Stucky, has expanded his role within the company, and will now serve as Chief Strategy Officer. In his new role, Stucky will oversee client relations, partnerships, product management and the overall strategic direction of the company.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that servicemembers, veterans, and their families who complained to the bureau about financial products or services have recovered over $1 million. The report covers more than 14,000 complaints filed from July 21, 2011 through February 1, 2014.