MBA Newslinks Archive

“Independent mortgage bankers experienced improvements in the first three months of the year. This was a welcoming sign following a very difficult end of 2018, in which profitability reached its lowest level since our survey’s inception in 2008.”–MBA Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh.

“Under Lisa’s leadership, MBA has made strides to ensure our industry’s workforce reflects and understands the increasingly diverse consumers we serve in communities across America.”–Marcia Davies, MBA Chief Operating Officer and founder of mPower, about MBA Chief Financial and Diversity and Inclusion Officer Lisa Haynes, who was presented with the 2019 Diversity & Inclusion Award by the Council for Inclusion in Financial Services.

“The vast majority of commercial and multifamily mortgage lenders report they are working on the transition away from LIBOR, but the devil is in the details. Most firms are already taking some steps, including changing language in loan documents, but they also report relying on regulators and industry-bodies to make decisions before they take certain actions. The net result is a fair amount of uncertainty about the mechanics of the transition away from LIBOR, and an overall hesitation as many firms wait for others to lead the way.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“Digital platforms are speeding up mortgage processing on the front and back ends. When borrowers leverage online platforms for providing documents and completing necessary forms, we have found it reduces information intake time by more than 60 percent on average.”–Rick Bechtel, Head of U.S. Residential Lending for TD Bank, Cherry Hill, N.J.

“It is time for Congress as a whole, to speak up and demand that their colleagues allow for the NFIP to be extended prior to a lapse. The millions of homeowners, renters, small businesses, builders, real estate and insurance agents, lenders and taxpayers deserve nothing less.”–From an MBA/trade group letter to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to avoid letting the National Flood Insurance Program expire today.

“People are choosing from many different paths and reaching common life milestones at a wider age span than before, changing when they decide to purchase a home.” –Sherry Graziano, mortgage transformation officer with SunTrust, Atlanta.

“If the way you look and sound contradicts what you say, then people will not believe you. You have to display confidence, even when you don’t feel it. ‘Be yourself’ is the worst possible advice someone can give.”–Executive speech coach and media trainer Ruth Sherman, speaking at the mPower Luncheon last week at the MBA National Secondary Market Conference & Expo.

“The lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, combined with strong housing demand, have contributed to increasing rents across the country.”–CoreLogic Principal Economist Molly Boesel.

“The appropriations bill is critical to providing FHA with resources, both in staffing and systems upgrades, it requires to maintain its important, countercyclical role as a government-backed mortgage insurer.”–MBA Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Bill Killmer, on a Fiscal 2020 appropriations bill passed yesterday by a key House subcommittee.

“We should not be having a discussion over whether private capital is going to come back–private capital is back. We’re here; we’re making purchases; we’re making investments. The market is not going to suddenly one day see a trillion-dollar investment. It’s coming back slowly, and it should come back slowly, over time, the way all markets do.”–Matthew Tomiak, Managing Director of Structured Finance with Redwood Trust Inc., Denver.