Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based ServiceLink, a company that provides origination and default services, has named Stephen Massien to the position of director of marketing and communications. In his new role, Massien, who previously served October Research Corp.

New York-based Thacher Proffitt, a law firm with a history of handling areas such as commercial banking, real estate and structured finance, has formed a group of attorneys that will now focus on the management of distressed assets.

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced the expansion of its securities lending program and said $200 billion in Treasury securities will be lent out to primary dealers for a period of 28 days. These actions were announced to address liquidity pressures in the market, the Federal Reserve concluded in a press statement.

A press spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) had no comment Monday when asked about recent news reports suggesting the investigative body is probing Countrywide Financial Corp. as part of an ongoing securities fraud investigation.

The law firm of Murray, Frank & Sailer, LLP., filed a lawsuit recently against investment management services provider MBIA Inc., alleging the company failed to appropriately disclose its exposure to collateralized debt obligations, which had ties to the subprime market.

Reno, Nevada-based real estate valuation provider InsideValuation said Monday that its strategic partnership with International Financing Engineering Group has produced a product that allows mortgage risk managers the ability to more effectively identify the risk of a loan defaulting.

A recent filing with the Texas Workforce Commission confirms that GMAC Financial Services is closing its plant, located on Katy Freeway, in Houston, Texas—an action that will impact approximately 58 positions.

With home prices dropping in key market areas like California and Florida, eight banks are facing additional stresses within their loan portfolios due to the eruption of home equity delinquency rates, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.

Banking and financial services platform Citi said this week that it plans to make $45 billion in cuts related to residential mortgage assets in the United States over the next year. According to a press release issued by the company, the cuts are a 20-percent reduction from December levels and will reduce the number of new loans in Citi’s portfolio by 50-percent this year.

The President’s press secretary announced today that the USA Freedom Corps. has launched a nationwide financial literacy volunteer initiative to help distressed borrowers and financially-strapped Americans by developing a base of volunteers who can educate Americans on how to improve their personal finances.