Government Shutdown Begins; MBA Creates Member Guide with Implications for the Mortgage Industry

The federal government shut down Tuesday night at 11:59 p.m. ET. MBA has created a member guide outlining potential impacts to single-family and multifamily government lending programs and will update the guide as soon as more information becomes available.

• Starting today, October 1, a shutdown would necessitate a furlough of certain federal employees and significant curtailment of certain operations requiring agency staff intervention or action at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture.

• National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) authorities are also scheduled to expire on October 1. MBA continues to advocate for an extension of NFIP’s authority to avoid disruptions to the housing market, including joining other trade groups in a letter to Congressional leadership.

• Last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo that instructs federal agencies to prepare, in the event of a government shutdown, for reduction-in-force (RIF) plans. MBA continues to monitor this situation for potential impacts.

What’s next: A shutdown lasting a few days would slightly inconvenience single-family and multifamily mortgage markets. A longer delay – especially if it leads to widespread layoffs at federal agencies important to the industry – would have much more severe and disruptive impacts to members and the consumers, end users, and customers they serve.

For more information, please contact Bill Killmer at (202) 557-2736, Pete Mills at (202) 557-2858 and Jamie Woodwell at (202) 557-2936.