Gateway Mortgage Group (GMG) announced Wednesday the addition of David Robinson to the company as regional VP and director of alternative sales channels.

The Denver, Colorado-based Hopp Law Firm announced Tuesday that Reginald Storment, Esq. has joined the firm's New Mexico legal team as senior attorney in the Asset Recovery Group.

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), laid out the agency's aims to reform mortgage lending standards before a Congressional subcommittee Tuesday. Speaking before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services, and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs, Cordray acknowledged that although the Dodd-Frank Act has had a hand in improving most consumer lending markets, tight mortgage lending standards have kept creditworthy borrowers out of homes.

Limited inventory and increased competition helped push June's average home sales-to-listing price ratio above 95 percent, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. HousingPulse attributed the boost to increased competition for the falling inventory of non-distressed property listings, as well as particularly strong home purchase activity in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

CO-OP Financial Services announced Tuesday that subsidiary company CO-OP Member Center has partnered with LenderLive Network Inc. to better help credit unions serve their members.

Following promising reports of sales in California's Southland Empire, DataQuick issued another release revealing that foreclosure activity is down in the state. According to the company's data, the number of California homes entering the formal foreclosure process dropped in the year's second quarter to its lowest level since early 2007.

Amherst Securities Group expressed in a Mortgage Insight release worries about loopholes in eligibility requirements under the expanded HAMP program. The release specifically points to a rule that requires investors to pledge that they actually intend to rent the home; the requirement has no provisions about reporting on the investor's actual efforts to rent or on the income collected.

Matt Martin Real Estate Management (MMREM) announced Monday that SVP Ivan Choi was elected as the incoming chair-elect of the Asian Real Estate Association of America's (AREAA) board of directors.

A weakened second quarter may indicate a slowdown in economic activity for the rest of the year, Fannie Mae reported Monday. The GSE's Economic & Strategic Research Group revealed that it may have been too optimistic in its original 2012 GDP growth projection of 2.2 percent, revising its growth rate estimate to 2.0 percent. The group attributed the waning economic growth to drops in consumer confidence and employment opportunities.

The FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) is an estimated $151.3 million dollars lower after Friday claimed five more banks nationwide. Royal Palm Bank of Florida in Naples closed Friday, marking the fifth bank closure in the state and the 34th bank closure in the country overall. FDIC announced at the same time the closure of four other banks: Georgia Trust Bank in Buford; First Cherokee State Bank in Woodstock, Georgia; Heartland Bank in Leawood, Kansas; and Second Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago. These closings bring the 2012 national tally to 38.