CREF Policy Update: MBA Recommendations to HUD on Opportunity Zones; Providence, R.I. Mayor Vetoes Rent Control Ordinance; Fed Chair Nominee Warsh Testifies
MBA Offers Suggestions to HUD Secretary on FHA Loans in Opportunity Zones
Last week, MBA sent a letter to Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Scott Turner proposing enhancements to FHA multifamily programs when they are used to construct multifamily in Opportunity Zones (OZ).
• The suggestions include creating an express lane for OZ projects, allowing projects to have the same underwriting standards as middle-income properties, and eliminating NEPA requirements.
Why it matters: OZs can play a meaningful role in improving neighborhoods by attracting long-term private investment to underserved areas, helping to revitalize communities, support local businesses, and expand access to essential services.
• With the right policy framework and incentives, they can also drive the development and preservation of much-needed housing—particularly affordable and workforce housing—while promoting sustainable, inclusive growth for residents. Coordinating OZs and HUD lending programs can create synergies that maximize the impacts of both programs.
What’s next: MBA will continue to work with HUD and the Department of Treasury on ways to utilize more development in OZs.
For more information, please contact Megan Booth at (202) 557-2740.
Providence, R.I. Mayor Vetoes MBA-Opposed Rent Control Ordinance
Providence, R.I. Mayor Brett Smiley recently vetoed a proposed rent control law that had been twice approved by the City Council.
• Ahead of the Council’s vote, MBA and the Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association (RIMBA) sent a letter to Mayor Smiley endorsing his stance opposing the policy and his public vow to veto the measure. MBA also signed on to an opposition letter sent from the members of the Housing Solutions Coalition, which was delivered to Mayor Smiley ahead of his veto.
• The language approved by the Council would impose 4% annual caps on selected multifamily properties and create a Rent Regulation Board for adjustments.
Go deeper: While acknowledging housing affordability challenges, MBA warned that rent control reduces rental supply, defers maintenance, and deters investment—making it harder to finance new construction and property rehabilitation. Instead, the associations recommended market-based alternatives: zoning reforms for multifamily/mixed-use development, streamlined permitting, and incentives for rehabbing existing stock. These approaches promote long-term affordability without market distortions.
What’s next: The Council has 30 days to attempt an override, but its 9-6 vote is an insufficient majority. MBA, the RIMBA, and the HSC will continue their opposition and seek collaboration on supply-focused solutions to bolster Providence’s housing market.
For more information, please contact William Kooper (202) 557-2737 or Megan Booth (202) 557-2740.
Federal Reserve Chairman Nominee Warsh Testifies Before Senate Banking Committee
Last Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the nomination of The Honorable Kevin Warsh to be both a Member and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Republicans on the committee were supportive of Warsh’s nomination and focused on his views on price stability, reducing the Fed’s balance sheet, and returning the Fed to its core mandates. Democratic committee members were critical of Warsh, questioning the Fed’s independence from the President, raising ethics concerns, and probing Warsh’s views on interest rates, the employment mandate of the Fed, and inflation.
• A summary of the hearing can be found here, and the full hearing can be watched here.
Go deeper: Several Republican Senators asked Warsh about his stance on reducing the Fed’s balance sheet. Warsh said an expanded balance sheet distorts markets, favors financial assets, and weakens the Fed’s credibility. He supports gradually reducing the balance sheet and returning to the Fed Funds Rate as the primary policy tool of serving the dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment. Warsh stated that he has no fixed target for the balance sheet and emphasized that any reduction would require rigorous public deliberation over time. Warsh also said that increasing the Fed’s balance sheet should be limited to crises.
• Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) criticized Warsh’s prior service on the Federal Reserve Board prior to and during the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), stating he was not concerned enough then about subprime mortgages, flipping loans, or the risks of reverse mortgages. Warsh responded that he had for many years before the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) warned about the high level of risk for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “blowing up” and that his urging of GSE reform at the time was not acted on at the time by those in power. He also argued that subprime mortgages were indicative of a broader mispricing of assets.
What’s next: On Friday morning, U.S. Attorney General Jeanine Pirro of the District of Columbia said that her office will close its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a move that likely clears a path for Warsh’s nomination to be favorably reported to the Senate floor by the Banking Committee and subsequently confirmed by the full Senate in the coming weeks.
• Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is supportive of Warsh’s nomination, had previously stated he would block the reporting of any Federal Reserve chairman nomination by the Banking Committee until current legal proceedings against current Fed Chair Jerome Powell regarding statements tied to an ongoing Fed headquarters’ renovation are resolved.
For more information, please contact George Rogers at (202) 557-2797 or Jeremy Green at (202) 557-2849.
Bipartisan Group of House Members Push Back on Institutional Investor Ban
A bipartisan coalition in the House is pushing back against a Senate-passed provision that could inadvertently scope “horizontal multifamily” into a proposed ban on large institutional investors purchases of single-family homes. The proposal would significantly disrupt housing production, rental stability, and real estate capital markets.
More than 75 House members are urging leadership to strip or substantially revise Section 901 of the Senate-passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which would impose a ban on purchases of “single-family” homes and create a mandatory disposition requirement on new build-to-rent (BTR) development.
• The letter—led by co-chairs of the Congressional Real Estate and Build America Caucuses—warns that Section 901’s overly broad definitions would extend well beyond existing home purchases to capture new construction, including build‑to‑rent communities.
• MBA has also sent numerous letters and discussed the problematic Section 901 (as well as another on FHA multifamily loan limits) at visits with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle during this month’s National Advocacy Conference.
Why it matters: For MBA members, this language threatens to halt new development of BTR, constrain lending and investment of existing horizontal multifamily, and eliminate hundreds of thousands of future housing units.
What’s next: The House’s growing resistance signals a critical opportunity for engagement as lawmakers debate amendments to the Senate bill.
For more information, please contact Rachel Kelley at (202) 557-2816 or Madisyn Rhone at (202) 557-2741.
House Financial Services Holds Reinsurance Hearing
The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing to examine how reinsurance and credit risk transfers (CRT) distribute risk across broader markets, protecting taxpayers and supporting financial system stability.
• Ahead of the hearing, MBA joined a coalition letter that urged support for consistent, programmatic CRTs at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – with meaningful risk transfer away from the GSEs and preservation of CRT’s countercyclical role across market cycles — and direction to bank regulators to recognize insurance-based CRT so insurers can provide credit protection to banks on a level playing field with global peers.
• Members focused on whether current GSE CRT structures are effectively transferring meaningful credit risk away from taxpayers and into private markets—or whether recent policy changes have left more risk on GSE balance sheets.
• A summary of the hearing can be found here.
Why it matters: The hearing underscored the growing intersection of mortgage finance, insurance availability, and climate risk—an issue increasingly affecting borrower eligibility, loan performance, and housing affordability in high‑risk markets. Lawmakers and witnesses highlighted how CRT pricing can serve as an early warning signal for housing market stress and how reinsurance capacity supports both mortgage insurers and public programs like the NFIP.
What’s next: The hearing signals potential future legislative and regulatory debates around GSE release, capital rules, and risk-sharing frameworks that will directly affect loan pricing, product innovation, and the resilience of the housing finance system. MBA will continue to work with and inform members of any changes. For more information, please contact Rachel Kelley at (202) 557-2816 or Madisyn Rhone at (202) 557-2741.
MAA Action Week, May 11-15: Sign Up to Run a MAA Enrollment Campaign
With Congress considering a ban on institutional investors in build-to-rent (BTR), new bank capital rules, a reduction in FHA multifamily loan limits, the reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), and so much more, there has never been a more important time to be engaged and involved.
• On May 11–15, MBA will rally members nationwide to engage with policymakers, share their stories, and help shape the future of real estate finance during MAA Action Week. SIGN UP to lead a campaign at your company or state association (if applicable) and help grow MBA’s FREE grassroots network of industry professionals. Your participation strengthens our collective impact and ensures our voice is heard.
Why it matters: A strong grassroots campaign does more than raise awareness — it builds a lasting advocacy engine that drives progress well beyond Action Week. When companies mobilize their employees for advocacy, participation grows, momentum builds, and policymakers hear directly from the professionals engaged in commercial real estate finance. With more than 100 organizations joining us last year, 2026 is our moment to set a new benchmark.
• MBA provides ready‑to‑use resources—email templates, social content, active MAA rosters, and more—so participation is a simple and efficient exercise.
What’s next: Let’s make this milestone year truly monumental. Complete our sign-up form, and we will begin preparing your customized campaign materials.
For more information, please contact Jamey Lynch, AMP at (202) 557-2818.
Upcoming MBA CREF Council and Committee Meetings
MBA’s CREF Councils and Committees are a key way to connect to everything MBA has to offer around policy, advocacy, market intelligence and research, education, and networking. Visit www.mba.org/yourCREF to find out more.
Councils and Committees are built around specific capital sources and serve as an opportunity for you to join other commercial real estate finance professionals to hear from experts, discuss opportunities and challenges, and connect with peers.
Upcoming virtual meetings include:
• FHA Committee: May 12
• Life Company Council: June 16
• Private Credit Finance: June 17
• Bank Council: June 18
• Structured Finance Council: June 24
For more information, click on the links above and/or contact Kelli Burke at (202) 557- 2742.
Upcoming MBA Education Webinars on Critical Industry Issues
MBA Education continues to deliver timely commercial/multifamily and single-family programming that covers the spectrum of challenges, opportunities, obstacles and solutions pertaining to our industry. Below, please see a list of upcoming and recent webinars – all complimentary to MBA members:
• Basics of Commercial Loan Closing and Loan Documentation – May 12
• HUD’s Role in Multifamily Financing – May 20
• Mastering Commercial Insurance Modeling: Key Insights and Applications – May 21
• Understanding Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds in Affordable Housing Finance – June 12
• Fundamentals of Commercial Insurance Issues and Problems – July 15
MBA members can register for any of the above events and view recent webinar recordings by clicking here.
For more information, please contact David Upbin at (202) 557-2931.
