MBA Newslinks Archive

“The multifamily lending market in 2017 benefited from improving fundamentals, rising property values and low interest rates. The result was larger loan sizes and record levels of overall borrowing and lending.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“The TCPA should not expose legitimate businesses to unquantifiable uncertainty and the threat of costly liability for placing legitimate informational and other non-telemarketing calls to their customers. Unfortunately, the recent wave of litigation had led to this very situation.”–MBA Senior Vice President of Residential Policy & Member Engagement Pete Mills.

“The LO Comp rule causes serious problems for industry and consumers due to its inflexible prohibitions on adjusting compensation and its amorphous definition for what constitutes a proxy for a loan’s term or conditions. The rule harms the efficiency of the mortgage loan market by limiting lenders’ ability to compete and consumers’ ability to shop.”–From an MBA-sponsored letter signed by nearly 250 executives of MBA members companies to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, asking modifications to the Bureau’s Loan Originator Compensation rule.

“The Capital Council is designed to be a valuable resource for those who shape and influence decisions on commercial real estate finance investment committees. I encourage MBA members with an interest in developing business relationships and sharing their insights with key decision-makers in the commercial real estate finance industry to join and add their voice to the conversation.”–MBA President and CEO Robert D. Broeksmit, CMB.

“Unfortunately, the slide in housing is the real deal. Virtually every leading indicator of housing demand has been trending lower for several months, including pending home sales, mortgage purchase applications and the proportion of consumers stating that now is a good time to buy a home.”–Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.

“In our members’ experience, the Volcker Rule–in its current form–has not proven to be anefficient tool for achieving its intended policy objectives for a number of reasons.”–From an MBA/trade group letter to federal agencies recommending changes to the Volcker Rule that would alleviate unnecessary costs and burdens on businesses.

“The problems of unconscious gender bias go deeper than any of us can imagine. We are enculturing–generation after generation–the lack of representation of women in virtually every profession because of the message we are sending: that women and girls are far less valued than men and boys.”–Actor Geena Davis, during the mPower luncheon at the MBA Annual Convention & Expo.

“While the macroeconomic and housing market backdrops are, and should remain quite favorable, the mortgage industry continues to be challenged by the drop in origination volume, coupled with significant margin compression. Lenders of all types and sizes are seeing elevated costs, coupled with intensely competitive pricing, to capture more volume. This in turn is depressing revenues.”–MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.

“If you’re breaking the law, we’re going to come after you. If you’re doing something we don’t like, but it’s within the law, then we’re going to leave you alone….regulation by enforcement is done.”–Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Director Mick Mulvaney, speaking at the MBA Annual Convention & Expo.

“We thought Barack Obama was brilliant for harnessing the power of Facebook–and then Donald Trump harnessed the power of Twitter.”–John Harris, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Politico.