MBA Advocacy Update July 17, 2023
- MBA Vice Chair Laura Escobar Participates in White House Summit on Climate Resiliency and Affordable Housing
Last Tuesday, Laura Escobar, 2023 MBA Vice Chair and President of Lennar Mortgage, joined a plethora of industry and affordable housing leaders for a constructive meeting with key White House and agency staff to discuss best practices for incorporating physical climate risk reduction, resilience, and sustainability into affordable housing initiatives. The discussion focused on ways the Biden-Harris Administration can work with the private and public sector to better understand opportunities and promote work to advance climate resilience and sustainability in affordable housing throughout the nation.
-Why it matters: Escobar’s remarks focused on her experiences at Lennar Mortgage as a leading provider of new construction financing. She also highlighted impactful ways to enable more private sector investment into climate resilience and sustainability with respect to affordable housing, including the need for federal actions to help address upfront implementation costs, the use of Inflation Reduction Act funds to help the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintain an online catalogue of state and local building performance standards, and the need to avoid adding unnecessary and costly regulations that impede construction. She also highlighted the need for coordinated efforts between state and federal government to address the declining availability of property and casualty insurance.
-What’s next: MBA will continue to work with members, the Biden Administration, Congress, and industry stakeholders on safe and responsible policies that increase affordable housing and homeownership options for all households. MBA and other industry stakeholders have met with the Biden Administration numerous times over the last several months on the topic of affordable housing – both single- and multifamily – and will keep members updated on any new developments.
For more information, please contact Bill Killmer at (202) 557-2736 or Pete Mills at (202) 557-2878.
- House Passes National Defense Authorization Act Without MBA-Supported RON Provision
On Thursday, the full House passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) package that funds the Department of Defense and other government military operations. Last Congress, MBA worked with members of the House Armed Services Committee, as well as House leadership from both parties, to ensure that language to create minimum federal standards for the use of remote online notarization (RON) – the bipartisan, bicameral SECURE Notarization Act – was included as part of the FY 22 NDAA. That same amendment was not made in order for debate over its potential inclusion within the FY24 package yesterday. The standalone SECURE Notarization Act (H.R. 1059) already passed the House via voice vote earlier this year, and its Senate companion legislation (S. 1212) was introduced and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee in mid-April, where it awaits further consideration.
-Why it matters: MBA sent a letter outlining support and opposition for several proposed amendments that were considered in the House Rules Committee but later dropped within the broader NDAA package.
-What’s next: The Senate is likely to consider its own version of the NDAA in the coming weeks. After expected full Senate passage, the two chambers will attempt to conference on a final bill that would ultimately head to President Joe Biden’s desk for enactment.
For more information, please contact Alden Knowlton at (202) 557-2741 or Bill Killmer at (202) 557-2736.
- Senate Banking Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Land Contracts
Last Tuesday, the Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Subcommittee of the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing entitled, “Exploiting the American Dream: How Abusive Land Contracts Prey on Vulnerable Homebuyers.” Chairwoman Tina Smith (D-MN) held the hearing to investigate troubling reports of how contract for deeds (CFD) and land contracts are used instead of mortgages for those who do not have access to traditional financial services. A summary of the hearing can be found here.
-Why it matters: Senators also raised other housing issues at the hearing, including expanding access to small dollar mortgages and manufactured housing.
-What’s next: The Senate Banking Committee will continue to examine the adequacy of consumer protections in housing finance and seek proposals to advance equitable housing goals.
For more information, please contact William Kooper (202) 557-2737 or Liz Facemire (202) 557-2870.
- Fed Vice Chair Barr Reiterates Agencies’ Calls for Tougher Capital Rules
Last Monday, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr gave a speech at the Bipartisan Policy Center on the forthcoming interagency proposed changes to bank capital requirements for banks with assets of $100 billion or more. Barr provided a high-level update on his “holistic review” of the proposed changes, and next steps for updating those standards. While he did not share any specific details on the timing of the proposed rulemaking, he noted that after it is issued, there would be an appropriate public comment period and subsequently, a lengthy implementation timeframe.
-Why it matters: The forthcoming rules would propose the so-called “end game” rules to complete U.S. regulators’ implementation of the Basel III standards and make changes in response to the recent large bank failures. Barr noted that, while many banks currently have enough capital to meet the proposed new capital requirement (based on the most recent stress-test results), the proposal would make necessary changes to how banks are regulated and supervised on liquidity, interest rate risk, and incentive compensation. It is expected the changes could collectively result in increased capital requirements at larger banks by 15 to 20 percent – large to enough impact which lines of business banks choose to support.
-What’s next: MBA will focus on how these rules, when issued, could impact banks’ participation in the mortgage market as lenders, servicers and providers of warehouse and MSR financing, and will make recommendations to mitigate potential adverse fallout.
For more information, please contact Fran Mordi at (202) 557-2860.
- MLO Licensing Flexibility State Updates
MBA and state and local associations have made significant progress on licensing flexibility policy for mortgage loan originators (MLOs). In late June, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB 2325, which provided remote work flexibility to licensed MLOs in line with MBA’s model law and regulation. This year, legislative advocacy has resulted in enactment of MLO remote work policy legislation in 5 states (FL, IL, MT, NV, and VA). In addition, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation provided MLOs the same flexibility by issuing a policy statement.
-Why it matters: Providing MLOs remote work flexibilities allows mortgage companies to save costs and meet consumer expectations on their terms.
-What’s next: MBA will continue to work with its state partners to support policy changes in states with limiting statutes and regulations consistent with MBA’s model law and regulation.
For more information, please contact William Kooper (202) 557-2737 or Liz Facemire (202) 557-2870.
- Upcoming MBA Education Webinars on Critical Industry Issues
MBA Education continues to deliver timely programming that covers the spectrum of
challenges, obstacles and solutions pertaining to our industry. Below, please see a list of
upcoming webinars – which are complimentary to MBA members:
-Mastering Revenue Metrics of Construction to Permanent Loans – July 18
-Managing Costs and Compliance of Lead Generation in a Purchase Market – July 19
-Office Doldrums: Challenges, Opportunities, and Nuances – July 26
-How to Leverage ChatGPT and Other Generative AI Platforms to Safely Improve Borrower Experiences – July 27
-Budgeting and Financial Planning for Non-Believers – August 22
-C-PACE Financing 101: A Commercial/Multifamily Lender’s Overview – August 23
MBA members can register for any of the above events and view recent webinar recordings.
For more information, please contact David Upbin at (202) 557-2931.
