Government

In Michigan, zipLogix, the creator of zipForm, announced the release of a new web conferencing service powered by AnyMeeting.

A recent report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies argues for more flexibility for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Under direction of a congressionally appointed advisory board and CEO, the new "FHA Corp." should be free to enact its own hiring process, manage its own budget and adapt to market changes "without Congress legislating each change or mandating numerous complex or inconsistent rules and regulations," researchers suggest.

Kroll Factual Data announced the addition of several product integrations into ISGN's MORvision Plug-In Partner platform.

Genworth Financial, Inc., announced a new chief risk officer (CRO) for its Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance (USMI) unit. Michael Derstine was selected for the position as CRO.

1st Regents Bank, of Andover, Minnesota, became the country's second FDIC-insured institution to collapse in 2013, the FDIC announced Friday. All of 1st Regents' estimated $49.1 million in deposits and virtually all of its $50.2 million in assets will be assumed by First Minnesota Bank in Minnetonka, the agency said in a release. First Minnesota will pay the FDIC a premium of 2 percent to assume the deposits.

Caliber Funding and Vericrest Financial have agreed to combine their operations to create one full-service, residential mortgage banking organization offering originations and loan servicing solutions, the companies announced.

Veros Real Estate Solutions announced its PATHWAY technology solution is ready to deliver Fannie Mae's proprietary appraisal messages.

360 Mortgage Group, a Texas-based privately-owned mortgage bank, recently announced the addition of two new mortgage refinance products to its inventory. The bank now offers customers access to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan Program and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Non-Credit Qualifying Streamline Product.

The debt ceiling controversy and its impact on the nation's financial credibility demands a solution that will last for more than just a few months.

Consumer spending continued its backslide in December, according to professional services firm Deloitte. Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index--which is made up of components measuring consumer tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices--slipped to 3.81 in December from November's reading of 3.96. The decline continues a downward trend that started in November after nearly a year of steady gains. Most of the drop in spending stems from an increase in unemployment claims following superstorm Sandy.