Through its recent acquisition of property insurance company Crump Group Inc., BB&T Corporation has doubled its wholesale insurance business. Based in New Jersey, Crump is among the nation's leading providers of wholesale commercial insurance, as well as the largest independent wholesale distributor of life insurance in the U.S.

Regional bank BB&T is starting of the year with a slew of awards for its Small Business and Middle Market banking groups. Between the two company divisions, BB&T earned 17 Greenwich Excellence Awards from Greenwich Associates.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation has released its 2011 internal findings, and the company was pleased to announce that last year marked its second highest annual total for mortgage loan volume in Fairway's history.

In California, Provident Financial Holdings, Inc., has announced its entry into retail originations. The company recently announced that it has hired a retail mortgage banking group to open loan production locations under the Provident Bank Mortgage banner throughout the northern region of the state.

Lender Processing Services, Inc., has officially responded to the December complaint made by the Nevada Attorney General. In a company statement, LPS stated that it has filed a motion to dismiss, based on legal defects.

In less than two weeks, M.D.C. Holdings, Inc., will welcome a new company officer, with the announcement that John M. Stephens will join MDC as the group's chief financial officer, principal accounting officer, and senior vice president. MDC's board of directors recently appointed Stephens to the leadership positions, and his new roles with MDC will become effective on February 13.

Mortgage lender Churchill Mortgage has announced a new addition to its sales force. The company has named Kevin Watson as the regional sales manager for Churchill's middle Tennessee area.

The American Legal & Financial Network (ALFN) recently released a brief statement announcing the resignation of the organization's current president and CEO, William LeRoy. The Missouri-based group extended few details surrounding LeRoy's departure, but the ALFN did indicate that LeRoy's resignation would be effective immediately.

In Colorado, MountainView Servicing Group has announced the upcoming sale of an estimated $129 million in Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights. The servicing portfolio will go on the block on Tuesday, January 31, at noon (EST). MountainView's servicing portfolio auction encompasses 566 loans, and most of the loans - around 99 percent - are Federal Housing Administration fixed-rate mortgages.

According to a recent report from the Center for Community Capital at the University of North Carolina, the new regulations surrounding qualified-residential mortgages will require creditworthy borrowers to take on a heavier financial burden when purchasing a mortgage, and many potential buyers may be pushed out of the mortgage market altogether. The controversial QRM rule, which is contained in the Dodd-Frank Act, has been the subject of lengthy debates since it was first proposed, and the regulatory move is largely unpopular both on Capitol Hill and Wall Street.