People

Corporate culture can be a powerful tool for a good leader — and a poison pill for a bad one.

TD Bank USA plans to hire additional mortgage lenders as it seeks to expand its mortgage business in the Northeast U.S.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Nov. 13.

Amid a renewed focus on improving customer service and the overall borrowing experience, lenders surveyed by National Mortgage News indicate a strong interest in customer-relationship management software, but remain tepid about electronic signatures.

Joshua Banschick, a mortgage bond trader at JPMorgan Chase & Co., has returned to work nearly a year after the bank placed him on leave amid government probes into that market.

The added clarity provided by the Federal Housing Administration's revised single-family handbook comes at the expense of lender flexibility to get loans qualified, including a popular workaround for borrowers with deferred student loan debt.

While regulatory pressures remain top of mind for the mortgage industry, lenders surveyed by National Mortgage News are shifting their attention from defensive-minded compliance initiatives to ones that improve companies' ability to compete.

Nonbank mortgage lenders added 1,600 employees to their payrolls in September, which combined with revised August figures brought industry employment to its highest point in more than two years.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Nov. 6.

After years of plowing resources into compliance projects, mortgage lenders surveyed by National Mortgage News are foregrounding core business initiatives in their plans for the coming year. High on to-do lists are projects aimed at improving the customer experience and seizing new business opportunities.