MBA’s Bob Broeksmit Shares Optimistic Outlook for Mortgage Industry
(Bob Broeksmit, by Anneliese Mahoney)
NEW YORK–Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, shared his views on the industry from the main stage at MBA’s Secondary and Capital Markets Conference, offering a largely positive outlook.
“We’re actually seeing some critical reforms that will lift our industry–and America–for decades to come,” Broeksmit said. “This quiet progress is no accident. It’s the direct result of MBA’s advocacy.”
Broeksmit lauded many of the administration’s choices for leadership positions in the housing industry. “We’re now dealing with leaders who know the importance of prudence,” he said. “We have fewer worries of overregulation and policy proposals that hurt the industry and ultimately increase borrower costs. On the contrary–Washington is now focused on empowering you to help even more Americans at an even higher level.”
Broeksmit pointed to a number of what he called “deregulatory actions” that promise to benefit the industry. For one, he applauded HUD’s decision to waive implementation of its floodplain rule, which he said would have imposed a massive cost on single-family and multifamily properties nationwide. He said that MBA is still pushing the administration to repeal the rule in full.
He also highlighted the push of new energy standards for homes built with FHA and USDA financing–now delayed by at least six months with MBA calling for a full repeal. And, FHA has also accelerated the adoption of a permanent loss mitigation waterfall.
“At FHFA, Director [Bill] Pulte has rescinded the advisory bulletin that essentially turned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into consumer protection regulators by directing them to conduct UDAP compliance reviews on their customers,” he said. “That was a bad idea to begin with, but now it’s no longer a threat.”
Looking at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Broeksmit said MBA is working with the current leadership and urging them to “fix broken policies or roll them back together.” And, the CFPB is listening, Broeksmit said, also cautioning that some guidance is necessary and “it doesn’t make sense to take a sledgehammer to everything.”
“At the end of the day, the administration is returning agencies to their statutory mandates,” he said. “They’re putting regulators back in their proper lanes, as established by federal law.”
In general, the GSEs are moving in the right direction, Broeksmit said. He also brought up what he referenced as an “elephant in the room”–the release of the GSEs from conservatorship.
While he explained it’s likely not going to happen soon, he acknowledged that both Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Pulte have said they “won’t allow a release that results in higher mortgage rates and costs for borrowers.”
Broeksmit also said there’s an opportunity to revitalize the private market. He reported that MBA is in talks with the administration about making it easier for banks to keep loans on their balance sheets and securitize mortgages that aren’t eligible for federal programs and working with prudential regulators to ease capital standards.
Broeksmit closed with the same optimism he started with, saying, “We’re living through a time of necessary deregulation.”
“We’ll continue to advocate for the reforms you need,” he said. “And we’ll keep moving the ball forward, quietly and tirelessly, day after day.”
