People

It would appear that certain politicians - both left and right - look at guarantee fees and say to themselves: Hey, here's a way to raise some revenue and no one will blame us for taxing mortgage lenders. Well, guess again.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus is facing the toughest political challenge of his 19-year career in Congress, and it's not even coming from another candidate.

Dallas-based residential mortgage originator PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital company, added Latonia Donaldson as a business development manager.

Inland Real Estate Investment Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., said that Brian Conlon has been named to the position of chief executive officer.

Axia Home Loans, Bellevue, Wash., a $1 billion a year producer, has hired Keith Frachiseur as its new president.

Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, Hartford, Conn., named Charles Weeks as chief executive officer of its European operations. Weeks, who previously was Cornerstone's co-head of business development for Europe, succeeds Iain Reid, who is retiring.

William Moss has joined Carlton as managing director and will be responsible for Carlton's newly formed residential strategic advisory group and co-head of Carlton's loan sale advisory group.

PennyMac's Stanford L. Kurland has taken his share of criticism for helping to start the financial crisis. Now he is singing the praises of the government's latest attempt to fix it.

IMARC hired Lisa Binkley, a 25-year mortgage industry veteran, as senior director of product design and business development.

Here's a taste of a story appearing in the Monday edition of National Mortgage News: Brian Simon, CEO of Caliber Funding, in a recent interview predicted that his company could grow originations by threefold or fourfold in 2012.