DS News

24 MOVERS & SHAKERS KEEP UP WITH WHO'S DOING WHAT AND WHO WENT WHERE Got something to share with us? Send it to Editor@DSNews.com. Judge Dismisses Most Claims Against Bank of America in RMBS Suit A federal judge in New Jersey dismissed most of a lawsuit filed by Prudential Financial Inc. against Bank of America which claimed the North Carolina-based megabank sold them more than $1.9 billion worth of toxic mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the fi- nancial crisis, according to multiple media reports last month. U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler in Newark ruled that Pru- dential failed to show sufficient proof that Bank of America and its Merrill Lynch misrepresented the quality of its loans backing securities to ratings agencies, according to reports. Prudential claimed in the lawsuit that Bank of America was guilty of "wide-ranging fraud" that left Prudential with "countless" bad securities that led to foreclosure or default. Chesler dismissed most of Prudential's claims with prejudice, according to reports. He did rule that Prudential could re-submit a claim involving 21 securitizations for which Bank of America acted as underwrit- er but not as a sponsor or issuer. Chesler said in his ruling Pru- dential could not rely on "after the fact" computer analysis to determine Bank of America knew at the time the property appraisals for 54 securi- tizations it issued from 2004 to 2007 were being misrepresented. Spokespeople from both Prudential and Bank of America declined to comment on the suit and the judge's ruling. Bank of America has had its share of legal troubles over RMBS in the last year. In August 2014, the bank entered into a settle- ment with the U.S. Department of Justice for record $16.65 billion over the packaging and selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities that led to the financial crisis. A federal judge in Manhattan denied the bank's request to remove a $1.27 billion penalty imposed in July 2014 for a government lawsuit against the bank which accused its Country- wide unit of fraud with regards to mortgage-backed securities. Auction.com Welcomes Two New Executives To Single-Family Residential Division The nation's leading online real estate marketplace, Auction.com, has announced the addition of two executives, Rob Behrend and Hauke Schupp, to its single-family residential division. Behrend will serve as SVP of single-family residential, and Schupp will function as SVP of operational excellence. Behrend has held many senior level positions during his more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage banking sector at firms such as Homeward Residential, Red Bell Real Estate, Saxon Mortgage, Goldman Sachs, and GMAC ResCap. Schupp has more than 20 years of technology management and engineering expertise across many industries. He has held many senior management positions that focused on business process effectiveness and optimization at firms such as Ocwen Financial, State Street Bank in Boston, Systems Evolution, Management Engineers, and Bose Corporation Clayton Holdings Hires New Business Development Director Connecticut-based mortgage industry information and services provider Clayton Holdings has an- nounced the hiring of John Guy as senior managing director of business development. During his more than 25 years in the residential and commercial mortgage banking and finance industries, Guy has served in senior business development roles at Auction.com, Mission Capital Advisors, and Ocwen Financial Corp. HomeStar Welcomes New SVP of Field Service Operations HomeStar, LLC, has announced the hiring of Matt Richey as SVP of Field Service Operations. Richey, who will work out of the company's Dallas office, will leverage his extensive experience in residential mortgage banking and real estate development in his new position overseeing HomeStar's field service operations. Aspen Grove Solutions Appoints New SVP of Sales, Business Development Default services technology solutions firm Aspen Grove Solutions has announced the appointment of James Hall to the position of SVP of Sales and Business Development. In his new role with Aspen Grove, Hall will be directing all aspects of the company's sales policies, objectives, and initiatives. LenderLive Appoints President for Due Diligence Division As part of a push to expand its growing operation, Colorado-based mortgage services provider LenderLive Network has named Mark Hughes to serve as president of its Due Diligence Division. Hughes' resume includes leadership posts in due diligence operations at several of the country's top property and data firms. Freddie Mac Chief Economist Departs for CoreLogic After more than a quarter of a century spent working for Freddie Mac, Dr. Frank Nothaft has moved on to serve as SVP and chief economist at CoreLogic. Nothaft started at Freddie Mac in 1986. He was appointed to deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac in 1988 and named chief economist in December 2001. Altisource Adds Chief Revenue Officer Altisource Portfolio Solution's executive team saw a new addition, with industry veteran John Vella stepping into the newly created role of chief revenue officer. Vella has been in real estate for 30 years and has served in a number of leadership positions in that time, including president and CEO of EMC Mortgage Corporation (a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase). Black Knight Welcomes VP for Emerging Products Black Knight Financial Services named a new addition to its Data and Analytics division: Chip McAvoy has joined the team as VP of emerging products and technology. McAvoy has a long history working in real estate software, serving in both development and management positions for a number of firms, including CoreLogic and First American HED. International Document Services Names First-Ever CEO International Document Services (IDS), a mortgage document preparation vendor operating out of Salt Lake City, has promoted former EVP Mark Mackey to CEO. Mackey began his career at IDS in spring 1999, joining the firm as a member of the sales team. Before that, he was an agent as KMS Commercial Development and Real Estate. CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

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