Aiming to step up its profile in the retail lending world, New Century Mortgage has launched an aggressive branding campaign that hinges on the popularity of one of the nation’s top home improvement gurus. Last week, New Century officially took the wraps off Home123, a re-born brand initiative that features home expert Bob Vila as its spokesman. Established in the late 1990s, Home123 in the past has had lending relationships with lenders such as…