MBA, Trade Groups Urge Senate Approval of Ginnie Mae Nominee

The Mortgage Bankers Association and 30 industry trade groups sent a letter to Senate leaders urging approval of Michael Bright as Ginnie Mae President.

Bright was nominated by President Trump in May; he has been running Ginnie Mae on an interim basis since 2017. His nomination has remained in limbo as the Senate has worked through a backlog of judicial nominations, including the Brett Kavanaugh nomination for the Supreme Court. The Senate Banking Committee cleared Bright’s nomination on Aug. 23.

However, with time running out on the 115th Congress and a renewed push by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to reduce the backlog, Bright’s nomination could come up for a Senate vote in the next two weeks.

In the letter, MBA and the trade groups said Bright has demonstrated his ability to oversee Ginnie Mae’s current $2 trillion portfolio and will ensure Ginnie Mae continues to facilitate lending to low and moderate income, rural, urban and veteran borrowers.

“In his current role at Ginnie Mae, Mr. Bright established a strong leadership and decision-making ability in a number of areas including dealing with a harmful ‘loan churning’ practice being targeted to our nation’s veterans that not only negatively impacted those serving our country, but has negatively affected Ginnie Mae’s securities,” the letter noted. “At Mr. Bright’s direction, the problematic market players were identified and decisive actions were taken to begin to address the problem. More work may be necessary to fully protect our Veterans from further harm and stabilize Ginnie Mae’s securities. Mr. Bright’s prior experience, in the private sector and in public service, gives him a broad understanding of capital markets and the housing industry. As a former Capitol Hill staffer, Mr. Bright understands the policy issues affecting Ginnie Mae as well as the mortgage and financial markets. His broad finance background makes him an ideal candidate to lead Ginnie Mae.”

The letter also noted during his confirmation hearing, Bright demonstrated his “extensive grasp” of the complex nature of Ginnie Mae and its important role in providing affordable credit within the mortgage market.

“It is because of his considerable experience and willingness to act as a forceful regulator to protect borrowers and taxpayers that he received bipartisan support out of the Senate Banking Committee,” the letter said. “We respectfully urge you to support Mr. Bright’s confirmation as President of Ginnie Mae and bring up his nomination for a vote in the full Senate.”