Government

Michael Cannatti, a nearly 40-year veteran of the housing finance industry, has joined Mortgage Master as Texas Regional Manager, the super-regional mortgage bank announced.

Rep. Mel Watt (D-North Carolina) is already making waves with an announcement that he plans to delay an imminent increase in guarantee fees (g-fees).

Effective January 1, Ken P. Wilson, MAI, SRA, will take over as president of the Appraisal Institute, the group announced.

In a commentary shared with theMReport.com, Peter Muoio, chief economist for Auction.com Research, revealed the company's predictions for 2014. Chief among his predictions: Housing will get its second wind, the Federal Reserve's stimulus taper will take longer than most people expect, and Congress will (hopefully) get out of the way of the housing recovery--though even Muoio acknowledges the latter prediction might just be hopeful thinking on his part.

Mortgage industry commentators may argue (and they certainly have) about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) performance over the last year, but one thing is certain: The bureau knows how to command headlines. Early this year, CFPB finally issued its long awaited Qualified Mortgage (QM) guidelines along with a slew of other finance regulations. With the future of housing finance on the line, it's no wonder readers of theMReport.com couldn't tear themselves away from the news.

In Texas, Wingspan Portfolio Advisors hired Aaron Luburich to take the newly created position of SVP for business development.

U.S. Bancorp announced the promotion of P.W. Bill Parker to the position of vice chairman and chief risk officer.

Federal agencies assured institutions that they will not base their judgments of a loan's safety and soundness on its status as a QM or non-QM loan.

With only weeks left before the end of 2013, FDIC has added another tally to its list of the year's bank failures. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced Friday the closure of Texas Community Bank, National Association, in the Woodlands, Texas.

Mueller Reports, a provider of property data collection services operating out of New York state, announced its intentions to expand into the valuation space in 2014.