MBA Chair Laura Escobar: During These Times, ‘MBA Is Hardly a Bystander’

(Laura Escobar, by Anneliese Mahoney)

NEW YORK–Mortgage Bankers Association Chair Laura Escobar, President of Lennar Mortgage, took to the stage during MBA’s Secondary and Capital Markets Conference, highlighting what a difference just a year makes in the political and economic environment.

At last year’s conference, the hot topics included Basel III endgame concerns, worries about regulations related to oversight and capital requirements on independent mortgage bankers and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s fight against “junk fees.”

“Instead of raising our voices over concerns about too much government, this year we are hearing about concerns of too little government,” Escobar said, nothing that some programs and agencies important to the mortgage banking industry still face potential cuts or disruptions.

As for the economy, “this year, the impact of a possible trade war on prices, supply chains and the strength of the dollar have all introduced a lot of uncertainty and fueled investor and consumer anxiety about a recession,” she said.

Escobar noted that amid these changing times, “MBA is hardly a bystander.”

“We are leveraging our deep expertise and professional relationships cultivated over many decades to serve with the administration officials to advance policies that would help American lenders and consumers alike,” she said.

“MBA, folks, is the only organization representing all segments of the real estate finance industry,” Escobar said. “Our ability to lead successfully on behalf of all of our members is unmatched because we see the entire picture.”

Escobar said that she believes the White House, federal agencies, legislators and state policymakers don’t want to further compound the struggle of home buyers.

“They have every intention to reinvigorate the American Dream,” Escobar stated. “That is what the voters want. Our job is to remind them of this and provide details on how to succeed.”