Marinosci Law Group, PC (MLG) announced the hiring of Gregg Dreilinger as managing litigation attorney for the firm's Florida office. Dreilinger has been representing lenders and servicers in foreclosure actions for over 15 years.

President Obama is announcing two steps that will be taken to assist servicemembers and FHA borrowers, the administration stated in a release today. One provision will have servicemen who were foreclosed upon since 2006 reviewed, and if any are found to have been wrongfully foreclosed upon, they can receive compensation equal to a minimum of lost equity, plus interest and $116,785. In addition to foreclosure reviews, servicemembers will be reviewed for interest rates to see if any were charged more than 6 percent after a request to lower the rate.

With more homeowners finding themselves underwater alongside the availability of programs offering potential relief, CredAbility reported that it recently counseled the highest number of homeowners since June 2011. CredaAbility, a national nonprofit organization that offers free counseling to homeowners, provided guidance and advice to 6,433 homeowners in February, a 16 percent increase compared to January.

Financial institutions filed 19,934 mortgage loan fraud (MLF) suspicious activity reports (SARs) in the third quarter of 2011, a 20 percent increase compared to the third quarter last year, when 16,567 reports were filed, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) report of MLF SARs. In the third quarter of 2011, about 62 percent of the filings involved suspicious activities that started four or more years ago, compared to only 24 percent a year ago during the same time. The 2011 filings stem largely from mortgage repurchase demands and special filings generated by several depository institutions related to mortgages originated in the height of the housing boom, according to the report.

Last month, year-over-year home price declines were at their lowest level since April 2011, but REO saturation levels rose in three of four regions, according to Clear Capital's latest Home Data Index. Whether this REO increase is an anomaly or the beginning of a new wave of REOs as banks pick up the pace now that they've reached a settlement with the state attorneys general is yet to be determined. Nationally, home prices fell 1.9 percent year-over-year, according to Clear Capital. The West and Midwest experienced the greatest declines, 3.2 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.

Consumer credit data suggests spending will increase and the housing market will begin to emerge from its slump this year, according to Equifax and Moody's Analytics. Both companies note that as key market data align with pre-recession totals, consumers should anticipate steady economic growth for major credit sectors, including auto, bank card, and consumer finance. While the mortgage lending sector continues to see the highest percentage of delinquencies, it too is showing signs of increased traction in the coming months.

NDeX announced the appointment of Ronald D. Redmer as the company's new chief information officer (CIO). As CIO, Redmer is responsible for managing the IT sector of the firm, while also designing, developing, implementing and maintaining solutions for integration in mortgage banking institutions, title companies, investors, and more.

WFG National Title Insurance Company has added Robert Opdycke as an agency sales representative in its Southeast Regional agency office in Virginia. Opdycke will be responsible for growing and maintaining WFG relationships with agencies in central and western Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

During January, approximately 74,000 homeowners received permanent loan modifications from mortgage servicers, according to modification data released by HOPE NOW, a voluntary, private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and non-profit counselors. While the January numbers are a decrease compared to the previous two months, it was a record-breaking month for foreclosure sales. For the first time since October 2009, foreclosure sales, which reached approximately 79,000, outpaced loan modifications.

State regulators closed Global Commerce Bank of Doraville, Georgia on Friday, marking the first bank closing for March and the second Georgia bank to close in two weeks. So far this year, twelve FDIC-insured banks have closed. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Metro City Bank of Doraville, Georgia, to assume all of the deposits of Global Commerce Bank.