MBA’s Bob Broeksmit: MBA Ready to Act, No Matter Election Outcome
(Bob Broeksmit, CMB; Image by Anneliese Mahoney)
DENVER–Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, said no matter how the election shakes out next week, MBA is ready to take action for its members.
He made his remarks Oct. 28 at MBA’s Annual Convention & Expo.
“While the rest of the country is anxious about the election, at MBA, we’re ready. We’ve spent months preparing for every outcome,” Broeksmit said. “And we’ve spent years deepening our relationships and partnerships with leadership in both parties.”
As for what those various outcomes could mean for MBA members and the mortgage industry, there’s some known and unknown factors.
Broeksmit said that when it comes to rates, the Federal Reserve is largely independent from the President and Congress, so those aren’t likely to be deeply affected.
As for federal policies, if there’s a divided government–a likely outcome, Broeksmit posited–the next president may have to rely heavily on regulation.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris each have their own governing philosophies and aims, Broeksmit noted.
“But I want to reassure you that in either case, MBA has a game plan. We know how to stop bad ideas, or at least make them better,” he said. “And we’re always ready to push for good policies that enable you to do more for Americans.”
Broeksmit listed a number of ways that MBA has accomplished its goals and fought for its members over the past year.
He cited the FHFA Suspended Counterparty rule.
“When the proposal came down last year, hardly anyone was paying attention. But the MBA paid close attention, and we immediately saw the danger it posed. That rule would have banned companies that make minor mistakes from working with Fannie and Freddie,” Broeksmit said. “It wasn’t just over-regulation. It was an overreaction, and we refused to let it stand.”
He described launching a national coalition to stop the proposal, and how MBA leveraged relationships with Congress, the White House and FHFA. Now, a new rule has been proposed that’s “dramatically better,” Broeksmit said. “Immediate suspension orders are off the table. Your due process rights are more secure. And minor violations will no longer be subject to major punishment.”
Broeksmit also pointed to the Basel III endgame rule, dubbing it a “disaster in the making.”
“It would have seriously injured low-to-moderate-income lending by raising risk weights on specific types of mortgages, particularly for low downpayment loans. That increase in required capital would inevitably mean fewer loans would be made, and the loans that are made would be more expensive,” Broeksmit said, adding that it would have also affected mortgage servicing rights and capital requirements on warehouse lending.
Broeksmit touted MBA’s work advocating before Congress, the Fed, the FDIC and the White House.
“We told them in no uncertain terms that Basel III would destabilize the housing finance market,” Broeksmit said. “The Fed, OCC and FDIC now all appear to agree […] that Basel III is unworkable, and they’re going back to the drawing board. We’ll keep fighting to ensure that whatever they do protects you and your customers.”
An advocacy work in progress is trigger leads legislation, Broeksmit said, pointing out that there’s bipartisan support in Congress. MBA’s preferred bill on trigger leads is now in the defense authorization package.
“It proves that not even gridlock can stop the MBA,” Broeksmit said.
While there is plenty that Trump and Harris disagree on, both are likely to try to tackle housing, Broeksmit said. “We’ll be ready to support good policies from either president, and both parties.”
MBA is also prepared to take on the debate over taxes, with many of the 2017 tax cuts expiring at the end of 2025.
Federal housing policy is getting increasingly burdensome and contradictory, Broeksmit said. MBA has begun to advocate a fix to that problem.
“MBA is strongly calling for the creation of a National Housing Director. Under our proposal, a Housing Director would focus solely on housing and oversee every housing policy, no matter which agency it comes from, and spot contradictory rules from a mile away,” he said. “Ultimately, the Housing Director would stop agencies from stifling us and start the long-overdue process of empowering us to help even more Americans.”
“The Mortgage Bankers Association exists to serve you, and we need to hear more from you, because then we can deliver more for you,” Broeksmit concluded. “That’s our goal in 2025–to make the difference you deserve. If the last year proves anything, it’s that we get results when others can’t. And I know that together, we can achieve even more, for the benefit of all the American people.”
