%{=FONT-SIZE: 8.5pt}Kansas City, Missouri-based law firm Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen, P.C., announced the appointment of four new attorneys this week. The firm, which represents creditors and focuses on bankruptcy and foreclosures, recently hired attorneys James Fletcher, Jr.

A sweeping subprime lending reform bill that requires lenders to qualify borrowers for their ability to pay over the life of a loan, rather than at teaser rates, passed the California State Assembly this week.

The season of change continues at Bank of America) with the banking giant announcing Thursday that David Sambol, president  and chief operating officer of Countrywide Financial Corp., will be retiring after Barbara Desoer, BofA’s chief technology and operations officer, successfully transitions into the role of president of consumer real estate operations once the two companies are combined.

The Massachusetts foreclosure crisis shows no signs of abating with a new report from real estate publisher The Warren Group concluding that foreclosure deeds hit their highest level in recorded history last month.

Culver City, California-based ValuFinders, Inc., is promoting the flexibility of its Web-based Appraisal CONCIERGE appraisal ordering system in light of recent discussions about the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) and the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) adopting a new appraisal code of conduct.

Chicago, Illinois-based Artemis Enterprises, LLC, a company that provides collaborative cross-enterprise information management technology solutions, said Thursday that it has entered into a strategic business relationship with Innovative Relevance platform that constructs custom solutions for its strategic partners.

Speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise short-term interest rates in the near future caused mortgage interest rates to jump this week. McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac officially released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, which shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) hovering at 6.

A bill proposing the creation of a financial clearinghouse that will provide California citizens with critical information about credit scores, interest rates, responsible borrowing and overall financial literacy has passed the State Assembly and is now heading to the State Senate.

Higher provisions for loan losses placed additional stress on banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) during the first quarter of this year, according to a new report from the FDIC.

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) will be adhering to a new Code of Conduct in the near future because of a new report from the International Organization of Securities Commissions, which was created to give credit rating agencies new guidelines to follow when evaluating structured finance products.