Secondary Market

Prudential Snyder & Co., Realtors is now operating in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network, the company announced.

Freddie Mac's mortgage business grew--albeit slowly--in December, capping the year with an overall negative growth rate.

ALAW, a legal services provider for the mortgage banking industry, named Clay A. Cornett VP of sales for the firm and its related technology entities. Cornett has also been named a partner along with Christina Liepold and Michael Barron.

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation (FGMC), based in Virginia, announced the appointment of Chief Strategy Officer Gretchen Malatesta.

In Connecticut, Total Mortgage Services' wholesale division is relaunching with a re-energized focus--and a brand new name, the company announced. Formerly known as TMS Funding, the division is now operating as Total Mortgage Wholesale.

Ocwen's servicing segment is set to acquire mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) on a $39 billion portfolio from Wells Fargo, the two companies announced Wednesday. According to the dual releases, the portfolio consists of approximately 184,000 loans and accounted for about 2 percent of Wells Fargo's total residential servicing portfolio as of the end of 2013. The companies expect the transaction to close by the end of this year. Financial details were not disclosed.

Mortgage Industry Advisory Corporation (MIAC) announced two new mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolios totaling more than $694 million.

Pite Duncan, LLP, announced the promotion of Christopher Peterson to partner.

Interactive Mortgage Advisors (IMA), a firm focused on the valuation and trading of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), has added to its operational network with the opening of a new office in Dallas.

In a conversation Thursday hosted by the Brookings Institution, outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's easy money policies, dismissing concerns of out of control inflation and capital losses. He also eased worries about the long-term effects of the financial crisis--including the impact of unemployment on labor supply and productivity--saying that while they are a problem, none of issues are "truly permanent."