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Mortgage rates largely remained near historic lows from the week earlier, reflecting a sense of uncertainty that continues to persist among wary homebuyers. Bankrate.com denoted a new low for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which fell from 4.38 percent last week to crest at 4.33 percent this week. Finance Web site Bankrate.com and mortgage giant Freddie Mac polled financial institutions and the like in their weekly surveys. Freddie differed by few turns, signaling the loss of one percentage point this week.

Despite its complicated moniker, Morgan Stanley's newly formed Financial Institutions Group Global Capital Markets team has a simple mission - to help banks around the globe navigate financial and capital challenges. The advisory division will target organizations worldwide, offering strategies, underwriting, and decision-point support for clients. Morgan Stanley's Shyam Parekh will head up the FIG division out of London, and New York-based Kevin Ryan and Taylor Wright will round out the leadership.

National Bank of Kansas City is adding to its arsenal of technology tools. Recently announcing that it will now utilize DocuSign├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós eSignature platform to enhance all aspects of mortgage processing, the financial institution will be able to boost borrower├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós integration into loan procedures.

Mortgage application volume leapt forward by 4.9 percent from the week earlier despite flailing numbers for purchase applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association released the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for last week, with findings that include a seasonally adjusted 4.9-percent increase and an unadjusted 4.8-percent increase in terms of total mortgage application volume. Mike Fratantoni, VP with the MBA, tells MReport that application volume remains historically low due to low job growth, among other things.

NexGen Compliance Solutions, LLC, has named a new president with the appointment of Cheri Shine to the position. Shine will take over from the current head of the company, Jeff Adam, who is departing NexGen to open his own financial consulting firm. Formerly NexGen├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós executive vice president, Shine boasts more than two decades in the mortgage business, and she has held diverse roles throughout the industry, including previous experience in lending and title vendor management.

In the Northeast, data from the third-quarter shows that Massachusetts' housing market may be experiencing a slight uptick. The state recorded its third consecutive monthly increase in single-family home sales during September, based on year-over-year numbers.

New single-family home sales snagged a September updraft to crest at their highest perch in nearly half a year, but remain below sales seen during the same period last year. The Commerce Department reported that new residential home sales ticked up to an annual rate of 313,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, reflecting a 5.7-percent revision above the 296,000-unit rate from August. The median sales price for a new house sold over September came out to $204,400, with the average for the same cresting at $243,900.

Financial institutions are continuing to invest in technology despite the unpredictable mortgage marketplace this year, and Home Federal Bank is adhering to the trend with the recent announcement that it will go live on the Common Origination module from Fiserv, Inc.

The Obama administration's latest appointment on Capitol Hill was announced recently, with the news that Thomas Hoenig would be nominated as vice chairman of the FDIC. The former chief of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City would serve the FDIC until December 2015 if he is approved by the Senate.

The meeting cancellation before a major summit of European Union state leaders spooked the markets Tuesday, according to multiple news outlets, leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a 207-point nosedive and slashing stocks and shares for the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós mortgage lenders. The investor selloff wiped clean three days of otherwise solid gains for bank stocks and shares, which deflated on news that troubled economic heavyweights Greece and Italy may still tumble.