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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 7 A look at facts you didn't know you couldn't live without. Compiled by the DS News Staff TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS D ATA B I T S Approximately 41,000 foreclosures were completed in the U.S. in November 2014, a 9.6 percent decline from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 252,000 in December 2014, slightly above the year's average job growth per month of 246,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ALABAMA SENATOR SHELBY ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE PAGE 24 INSIDE THE JOURNAL // MOVERS & SHAKERS // ON THE WEB // THE APP SPECTRUM Source: AACER (Epiq Systems) FIVE MINUTES WITH Brandon Kirkham STATES WITH THE MOST BANKRUPTCY FILINGS PER CAPITA IN 2014 1 Tennessee 6.10 2 Alabama 5.28 3 Georgia 5.24 4 Utah 4.85 5 Illinois 4.66 6 Indiana 4.38 7 Nevada 4.03 8 Kentucky 3.79 9 Arkansas 3.68 10 Mississippi 3.67 State Filings Per 1,000 People Ranking STATES WITH THE FEWEST BANKRUPTCY FILINGS PER CAPITA IN 2014 1 Alaska 0.64 2 North Dakota 1.05 3 Vermont 1.13 4 District of Columbia 1.27 5 Hawaii 1.31 6 Texas 1.44 7 South Dakota 1.46 8 Montana 1.46 9 Massachusetts 1.52 10 Maine 1.52 Ranking State Filings Per 1,000 People In a widely anticipated move, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) was elected chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for the 114th Congress, according to an announcement from Shelby's website. Republican members of the committee elected Shelby recently and the Senate Republican Conference confirmed his appointment. Shelby previously held the position of chairman of the Senate Banking Committee from 2003 to 2006. Shelby, 80, is replacing retiring Senator Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) as chairman of the committee. "It is an honor to lead the Senate Banking Committee in the 114th Congress," Shelby said. "I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to implement policies that will foster economic growth." e standing rules of the Senate say that the committee has jurisdiction over legislation concerning such subjects as public and private housing, including veterans' housing; federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System; banks, banking, and financial institutions; deposit insurance; economic stabilization and defense production; and many others. Shelby will have just two years to lead the committee under GOP party rules. Despite working against the clock, many analysts and observers believe that his experience and longtime involvement with the committee will allow him to speed up the committee's activity. Analysts believe that one of Shelby's top priorities as Senate Banking Committee chairman will be taking on issues with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and, in particular, concerns over the activities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which formed a year after the Dodd- Frank Act was passed. ere are reported to be several proposed bills regarding financial regulation reform in the House that have yet to make their way to the Senate due to outgoing chair Tim Johnson's opposition to such reform. SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT VRM MORTGAGE SERVICES "It is an honor to lead the Senate Banking Committee in the 114th Congress. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to implement policies that will foster economic growth." —U. S. Senator Richard Shelby

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