People

Although women have made much progress in reaching the leadership levels of business, including the mortgage business, the progress is disappointing - and stalled. What is so stubborn about this issue? Why aren't more women making it to (and staying at) the top? The answer may be in awareness of why women leave and what they bring to the table.

Commercial mortgage banker Walker & Dunlop, Bethesda, Md., funded $4 billion of new loans in 2011, a 27% gain from the year prior, according to newly reported figures.

MountainSeed, Atlanta, a provider of appraisal management services to community and regional financial institutions, said that Lisa Scott has joined the company's sales division.

First, some good news: We understand that 350 MetLife Home Loan staffers are about to be made an employment offer. On top of that, other offers are being made to many of MLHL's high-performance loan officers. That's good news for the rank-and-file workers that make up this industry.

Scott Stern, the founder and CEO of Lenders One, a top player in residential finance, confirmed to National Mortgage News that he will leave the organization in March.

USAA Real Estate Co., San Antonio, named Will McIntosh as global head of research. In his role with USAA, McIntosh will provide both top-down and bottom-up research on markets and properties in addition to providing recommendations and direction on market and asset selection.

More than two dozen Democratic congressmen from California are calling on President Obama to use a recess appointment and replace Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco with a new regulator who will help prevent foreclosures.

Stonegate Mortgage Corp. has hired former Irwin Mortgage Corp. executive John F. Macke as EVP of capital markets in line with growth plans that include the introduction of nonagency jumbos this year.

For all the talk about legal challenges to the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at least one group of consumer lenders has no intention of stepping into the fray.

Rob Katz, Ellie Mae's executive vice president of product strategy, resigned last week, for personal reasons.