Senate Approves Carson as HUD Secretary; MBA Discusses Upcoming Challenges

The Senate yesterday approved Ben Carson’s nomination as HUD Secretary by a 58-41 vote.

Shortly after the vote, Carson was sworn into office by Vice President Mike Pence. Among his first actions in his new role, Secretary Carson plans a listening tour of select communities and HUD field offices around the country, beginning in his native Detroit.

“I am immensely grateful and deeply humbled to take on such an important role in service to the American people,” Carson said. “Working directly with patients and their families for many years taught me that there is a deep relationship between health and housing. I learned that it’s difficult for a child to realize their dreams if he or she doesn’t have a proper place to live, and I’ve seen firsthand how poor housing conditions can rob a person of their potential. I am excited to roll up my sleeves and to get to work.”

Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, issued a statement following the confirmation, commending Carson’s approval.

“His commitment to bolster America’s real estate markets and assist communities nationwide will serve him well in his new role,” Stevens said. “MBA looks forward to working with the Secretary and his team at HUD to ensure that families all across our country have access to safe, decent and affordable housing.”

In an MBANow video released yesterday (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro7r4wiJuS4&feature=em-uploademail), Stevens elaborated on the challenges facing HUD in the coming years, citing a “multitude of issues that MBA has been dealing with that involved FHA both on the single-family and multifamily sides.”

Stevens cited three priorities for MBA members:

—Enforcement. “Getting clarity about what reps and warrants could pose the greatest risk to the lender,” Stevens said. “That means finishing the taxonomy and working on the remedies associated with how they rank errors in the taxonomy approach.

—Mortgage Insurance Premiums. “The previous HUD Secretary [Julian Castro] had lowered premiums and that was obviously reversed under Executive Order,” Stevens noted. “Most important to that is how particularly the HECM Program–the reverse mortgage program–whipsaws the reserves of that fund back and forth, which can make policymakers more concerned about reducing premiums, because if you have another multi-billion dollar negative effect based on the HECM program and an upcoming actuarial, suddenly you’re back in front of Congress having to defend how it went below the threshold.”

—Servicing Issues. “It’s mostly focused on the loss mitigation area,” Stevens said. “We think there’s a lot of improvements that can make it easier for consumers in distress and can also protect FHA in a much greater way.”

Stevens also noted that MBA will be working with other Trump Administration officials, such as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “They manage the Preferred Stock Agreements and management of the [government-sponsored enterprises]–they’re the single biggest shareholder,” he said. “How they advocate and try to promote a congressional response helping to get these two companies out of conservatorship is goping to be something we need to focus on.”

Stevens also discusses the National Economic Council; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal agencies.