The Federal Trade Commission this week shut down a mortgage assistance scam operated out of the Dominican Republic while claiming to be headquartered in Chicago and affiliated with President Obama.

Ginnie Mae servicing volume rose to $1.3 trillion in the third quarter due to modest increases in quarterly and year-over-year production.

Impac Mortgage, one of the fastest growing funders among the top 100, has hired Mike Casey and Matthew Dismore to bolster its correspondent lending division.

Although the ink is barely dry on the new ‘Qualified Mortgage’ rule, mortgage bankers are already voicing concerns about how it will hurt compensation and affect the jumbo market.

Promontory Financial this week laid off between 750 and 1,000 workers in the Denver area, many of them working on loan reviews tied to delinquent and foreclosed mortgages, industry sources told Inside Mortgage Finance.

Competition in FHA lending may get a boost following the easing of reporting requirements for insured depository institutions with $500 million or less in total assets.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has hired Lisa M. Applegate as head of mortgage rule implementation, an official told Inside the CFPB.

Bexil American Mortgage, a company headed by industry veteran John Robbins, finally revealed the name of the mortgage banking firm it agreed to buy a few weeks back: Castle Mortgage of Vestavia Hills, AL.

Before we get to the main event (the ‘Qualified Mortgage’ rule), it’s time to consider the improving fate of Fannie Mae, which is poised to have a few coming quarters of blow-out earnings – which will go directly into the coffers of the U.S. Treasury Department, much to the delight of the newly nominated secretary Jack Lew.

Industry veteran Jon Daurio, who’s trying to raise $250 million to start a new nonprime lender, is hoping to have much of the work tied to his capital raise completed by the end of the first quarter of 2013.