Broeksmit Discusses Recent Wins, Current Challenges: #MBAIMB24
(MBA President and CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB, speaking at MBA’s Independent Mortgage Bankers conference)
NEW ORLEANS–In the face of a difficult business climate, the Mortgage Bankers Association is fighting for Independent Mortgage Bankers every day to ensure they can deliver for borrowers, MBA President and CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB, said here at MBA’s Independent Mortgage Bankers conference.
Broeksmit noted some recent wins for the industry, including the Federal Housing Administration’s decision to reduce the mortgage insurance premiums it charges home buyers–FHA Commissioner Julia Gordon announced the MIP reduction at the 2023 MBA Servicing Solutions Conference & Expo–and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s announcement rescinding the debt-to-income-based loan-level pricing adjustment it proposed last year. That proposal would have made significant adjustments to loan-level pricing adjustments that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge on conventional loans they purchase.
In a statement last May when FHFA rescinded the controversial proposal, Broeksmit called the proposed fee “unworkable for lenders” and said it would have confused borrowers and undermined the customer experience. “We are pleased that FHFA engaged with industry stakeholders, recognized the negative impacts of the fee, and decided to rescind its implementation,” he said at the time.
At the IMB conference, Broeksmit promised MBA will not rest on its laurels. “The hard work continues in 2024,” he said. One priority is Trigger Leads. Late last year, Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., introduced H.R. 4198, the “Protecting Consumers from Abusive Mortgage Leads Act,” which MBA supports. The bill would eliminate abusive trigger leads while preserving their use in appropriately limited circumstances such as communicating with existing customers. Broeksmit said there is now a bipartisan Senate bill, “The Homebuyers’ Privacy Protection Act,” (S.3502), sponsored by Senators Jack Reed, D-R.I. and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.
Turning to the Basel III Endgame Proposal, Broeksmit noted MBA has been fighting for years to improve liquidity for IMBs and said the Basel III proposed rule is a chance to reiterate those recommendations.
MBA has pushed back strenuously on the mortgage elements of the banking agencies’ proposed capital requirements, Broeksmit said. This advocacy has included communicating its strong opposition to key elements of the proposal through letters, a public relations blitz, blog posts and on Capitol Hill, including the testimony Broeksmit gave before the House Financial Services Committee in September.
MBA is making recommendations to reduce the risk ratings on MSRs and warehouse lines to ensure liquidity in the market, Broeksmit said. And the association is going further and arguing that what has been in place is not conducive to good liquidity, risk management or overall health market competition.
“We will continue this fight against the Basel III Endgame proposal,” Broeksmit said.
