Top 10 Ways to Engage with MBA CREF

Andrew Foster is Associate Vice President in MBA’s Commercial/Multifamily Group. He is a regular contributor to MBA NewsLink and MBA Commercial/Multifamily NewsLink and can be reached at afoster@mba.org or 202/557-2740.

It’s that time of year again. The annual renewal invoices for your trade association memberships arrive. You think about how you leveraged memberships over the past year but it’s likely that your company could have done more to get the most out of it.

Below are a few suggestions on how commercial/multifamily members can effectively leverage Mortgage Bankers Association resources to get the most benefit from your firm’s membership:

Be sure your employees and managers subscribe and actively contribute to MBA Commercial/Multifamily Newslink, MBA’s weekly newsletter covering industry news/analysis, member announcements and MBA happenings with nearly 10,000 readers.

Join a Business Council, Committee or Roundtable.

“Roundtables are one of the best venues MBA has and MBA has a lot of good ones. This pools together all the senior professionals in the commercial real estate finance across product types, across regions…it’s a great education for somebody like me.” — Matt Galligan, COMBOG Vice Chair and Vice Chairman of Real Estate Finance, CIT.

Participate in mPact and mPower networks to connect with and support the growth, success and industry participation of women and young professionals in real estate finance.

Have an interest in a policy or advocacy issue? Reach out to the CREF Policy Team or Legislative/Political Affairs staff to get more information and to get involved.

“MBA is a critical part of the industry. There’s legislative and regulatory advocacy that is important to its members, there’s an education aspect to it and there’s also research and analytics that are critical.” –Tim McGinnis, 2019 Chair of Dutch Treat, New York Life Investors.

• Participate in a CREF research survey, get quarterly market updates or sign up for CREF Market Intelligence blog.
• Stay informed and take action to support your industry politically with MBA’s FREE Grassroots Advocacy Network, Mortgage Action Alliance. MAA continues to grow our voice in Washington, D.C. and across the country recently surpassing 50,000 members.

“MAA is critically important because members of congress respond to people in their districts.” — Alden Knowlton, Associate Vice President Political Affairs, Mortgage Bankers Association.

• Become a CREF event attendee, sponsor, or speaker. Whether it’s the CREF Convention & Expo, Servicing and Technology Conference or a smaller gathering, raise your hand and volunteer building valuable connections with your peers in the process.
• Sign up for an education offering, whether it be to attend a free webinar, an classroom-style training course or even sharing your expertise by teaching a course.
• Consider pursuing an industry designation such as Certified Commercial Mortgage Servicer (CCMS), Chartered Realty Investor (CRI) or Commercial Mortgage Banker (CMB) that can set you apart and elevate industry standards of ethics and professionalism.
• Sign up for MBA’s premier leadership training course, Future Leaders. Hone your leadership skills, work alongside your industry peers in comparable leadership roles at other organizations.

“The Commercial/Multifamily Future Leaders program held its first ever virtual Summer session with great success. Guest speakers covered hot topics in legislation and tips for effective leadership. The session also included a special presentation from the Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg, which was specially designed to replace the annual field trip to Gettysburg. The event had rave reviews and translated well to the virtual platform.” — David Upbin, Vice President Education Operations and Programming & MBA Strategy, Mortgage Bankers Association.

Have questions? Reach out to MBA’s Vice President of Commercial/Multifamily, Kelli Burke, or Michael Flood, MBA Senior Vice President of Commercial/Multifamily. We are here to serve you and help your company engage in ways that create meaning and value to your bottom line. Your involvement will help you to connect, learn and grow by serving the real estate finance industry. We get it done, together. 

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Mortgage Bankers Association is the national association representing the real estate finance industry. As an organization, we are committed to providing our members with unmatched value and unparalleled benefits. MBA is the only association representing all segments of the real estate finance industry. We are the first call and loudest advocate for what is best for the sustainability and future growth of the industry. Interested in learning more about company membership? Click here to find out how you and your colleagues can fully engage with the commercial real estate finance ecosystem.