CNBC reported this week that First Franklin, the lending subsidiary of Merrill Lynch, is expected to significantly scale back on its lending operations, which could possibly result in the loss of 300 to 400 jobs.

Addison, Texas-based law firm Barrett Burke Wilson Castle Daffin & Frappier, L.L.P. and NDEx named Debora T. Kehr director of the firm’s Homeowners’ Assistance and Loss Mitigation Department this week.

Creating new efficiencies for the process of managing default files is the latest rage in today’s mortgage marketplace, and Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) has its own solution to meet this demand.

Integrated Mortgage Solutions (IMS), a firm specializing in collateral protection for the mortgage servicing industry, announced the appointment of Diane Gozza to the position of senior vice president of sales and marketing this week.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Alphonso Jackson said this week that since its inception, HUD’s FHASecure loan product has aided 100,000 distressed borrowers. The program allows homeowners to escape foreclosure by refinancing into safer, more stable loan products that are backed by the federal government.

HEART Financial Services, a division of the LOGS Network, has forged a strategic partnership with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) in an effort to help non-profits develop effective communication plans that will reach more consumers with home retention information.

Foreclosure filings in the United States were up 57-percent in the month of January when compared to the same period a year earlier, according to new data from RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo may be close to brokering a deal with the nation’s two largest government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in which the companies would be required to partner only with lenders and brokers who utilize independent appraisal platforms, Reuters news agency reported Tuesday.

A controversial Senate Bill that will allow judges to modify the terms on existing mortgage loans could hit the U.S. Senate floor as early as Tuesday, Reuters news agency said late last week. The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 is backed by Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and other Democrats, but continues to draw criticism from industry associations that believe loan modifications from the bench could prove detrimental to homeowners later on.

Existing home sales—which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—fell 0.4-percent in January when compared to December of 2007 and 23.4-percent when compared to January of last year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said in a report released Tuesday.