The Week Ahead Dec. 13, 2021: Four Things to Know

Good morning! It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays—but we’ve still got a few weeks of business to take care of, first. Here are four things to look for this week:

First, The Fed. The Federal Open Market Committee meets this Tuesday, Dec. 14 and Wednesday, Dec. 15. And while consensus forecasts don’t see the Fed raising the federal funds rate (currently at 0-0.25%) until the end of next year at the earliest, analysts will be scrutinizing the FOMC statement (Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET) and any comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell for insight on several issues, including the Fed’s continued tapering of agency mortgage-backed securities purchases and the growing (literally) specter of inflation.

MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni is among those who will be reading the tea leaves; he will provide commentary and analysis in the Thursday, Dec. 16 edition of MBA NewsLink.

Second, Congress. The goal posts keep moving as the House and Senate try to wrap up business for the first session of the 117th Congress. While a Continuing Resolution keeps the federal government open through Feb. 18, interparty (Democrats and Republicans)and intraparty (Democrats) negotiations continue on the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better legislative package. The House passed the bill last month, largely along party lines; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hoped to have a Senate vote by today…then before Christmas…but it appears that ongoing negotiations with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and to a lesser degree, Sen. Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., could push the vote into next year.

President Biden has publicly stated he doesn’t have a firm deadline for the bill’s passage, just that he wants it done. And so, the situation remains fluid.

The Senate Banking Committee meets this Wednesday, Dec. 15 for a hearing on Disaster Recovery Assistance – Authorization of the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program. The hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. ET in Dirksen Senate Office Building room 538 and can be accessed online here.

For more information about the House and Senate, visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov, respectively. For more information about upcoming hearings in the Senate Banking Committee, click https://www.banking.senate.gov/hearings. For more information about upcoming hearings in the House Financial Services Committee, click https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/?EventTypeID=577&Congress=117.

Third, Housing and Economic Reports. The monthly parade of housing reports gets a bit condensed over the next couple of weeks in anticipation of the quiet period between Christmas an New Year’s.

The Mortgage Bankers Association kicks things off this Tuesday, Dec. 14 with its monthly Builder Applications Survey, featuring commentary and analysis from MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan.

MBA also releases its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey on Wednesday, Dec. 15, with commentary and analysis from Kan.

Other reports this week:

Wednesday: National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index; Advance Retail Sales; Empire State Manufacturing Survey; Imports And Exports; Business Inventories

Thursday: Initial Claims; New Residential Construction; Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey; Industrial Production/Capacity Utilization

Fourth, MBA Conferences. Here is a list of upcoming MBA Conferences:

·          Jan 10 – 13, 2022— MISMO Winter Summit 2022

Hyatt Regency Clearwater, Fla. Beach Resort and Spa

·          Jan 10 – 13, 2022— MISMO Winter Summit 2022 – Monday Livestream and Virtual Access to Workgroup Meetings
·          Jan 24 – 27, 2022— Independent Mortgage Bankers Conference

Grand Hyatt Nashville

·          Feb 13 – 16, 2022— Commercial/Multifamily Finance Convention and Expo

Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego

·          Feb 22 – 25, 2022— Servicing Solutions Conference and Expo

Hyatt Regency Orlando

·          Mar 6 – 9, 2022— Mid-Winter Housing Finance Conference 2022

Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Avon, Colo.

·          Apr 11 – 14, 2022— Technology Solutions Conference and Expo 2022

The Bellagio Las Vegas

·          Apr 25 – 26, 2022— State and Local Workshop 2022

Renaissance Washington, D.C.

·          Apr 26 – 27, 2022— National Advocacy Conference 2022

Renaissance Washington, D.C.

·          May 15 – 18, 2022— Secondary and Capital Markets Conference and Expo 2022

Marriott Marquis New York

·          May 15 – 18, 2022— Commercial/Multifamily Housing Servicing and Technology Conference

JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE

·          May 22 – 25, 2022— Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference 2022

Intercontinental Miami

For more information, click the links above or visit https://www.mba.org/conferences-and-education/conferences-and-meetings.

For the most up-to-date information regarding legislative activity at the state and local level, visit the MBA State Legislative Database here.

For information about MBA Education events, visit http://www.mbaeducation.org.  

For information about the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA), visit https://www.nammba.org/.

Enjoy the week!