Mortgage Deals Inked

PMI Group Inc. said on Thursday it will buy back up to $345 million in shares of its common stock from Goldman, Sachs & Co. as part of a previously announced share repurchase program.

Doral Financial Corp. recently announced it appointed Glen Wakeman, 46, as CEO and a member of its board, and assigned Calixto Garcia-Velez to the post of chairman and CEO for subsidiary Doral Bank Puerto Rico. Wakeman was previously CEO of GE’s Consumer Finance Latin America business, while Garcia-Velez has served as president of Citibank West, FSB, over the last year.

Bradford Mortgage Co. brought Kenneth N. Lard on board as chief executive officer, according to an announcement. Lard’s more than 20-year career most recently includes an executive position at Triad Guaranty.

In Nampa, Idaho, Home Federal Bancorp Inc. announced it appointed Len E. Williams as president of Home Federal Bank, succeeding the retiring CEO, Daniel L. Stevens.

Fannie Mae said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which has been investigating its accounting practices and polices since October 2004, is ending the probe and does not plan to file charges against the company.

The government-sponsored enterprise announced in May that it had agreed to comprehensive settlements resolving matters with its regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, and the SEC.

“We will continue to work closely and cooperatively with our regulators as we move forward to carry out the terms of our agreements, complete our restatement and build a better company,” said Daniel H. Mudd, Fannie president and CEO in a written statement.

Jumbo ARM originator Thornburg Mortgage Inc. sealed a deal to acquire Adfitech Inc., the largest provider of outsourced quality control services for the mortgage industry, according to an announcement. Adfitech will continue to operate as a separate business unit headquartered in Edmond, Okla.

Hemisphere National Bank has agreed to purchase PineBank, bringing to five the number of Miami-Dade County branches, according to the Miami Herald.

Trustmark Corp. today announced it completed acquiring Republic Bancshares of Texas in a $100 million deal that “significantly” enhances its Houston market presence.

In anticipation of the merger, Trustmark said it refined its plans “to build an enhanced retail, mortgage banking and wealth management platform in Houston to complement Republic’s strong middle-market commercial lending base.” Additionally, it intends to open six additional banking centers in the city during the next three to 18 months.

Meanwhile, Ohio-based Sky Financial Group Inc. is a step closer to putting Indiana-based Waterfield Mortgage Co. under its umbrella, as the companies announced Waterfield shareholders approved the merger Thursday. A closing date for the merger, however, has not been determined.

Teledraft Inc., a privately-owned electronic payment processing company, announced Wednesday it acquired a stake in privately held Pacific Coast Mortgage Inc. as part of its strategy to move its core business into the financial services market.

Pacific, one of the largest mortgage companies in Arizona, found the merger would give it a “great” competitive edge, while Teledraft aims “to learn more about the mortgage business model, how it works and where it works,” according to the announcement.

First Internet Bancorp has inked an agreement to acquire Landmark Financial Corp. in a $12 million all-cash deal expected to close in the first quarter 2007, according to a press release today. “Landmark’s residential real estate-related asset generation capabilities and high quality loan portfolio complement the consumer loan operations at First IB,” said First Internet Chairman and CEO David B. Becker in the statement.

In Reston, Va., Greater Atlantic Financial Corp. said it received a letter indicating the company did not meet requirements for continued listing on the NASDAQ Global Market because it has not filed its second quarter financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, the company’s common stock is subject to delisting and will be suspended from trading on Aug. 28.

The Form 10-Q has not been filed Form 10-Q because of the company’s ongoing investigation of an unreconciled inter-company account between the Greater Atlantic Bank and its defunct subsidiary Greater Atlantic Mortgage Corp., the announcement said.

Greater Atlantic said it has requested a hearing with NASDAQ to appeal the delisting. The hearings typically occur within 30 days of request.