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I’m attending the 33rd Annual Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations at Harrah’s new convention center in Atlantic City. Nice place.
The residential segment opened yesterday with Barry Habib, Chief Market Strategist of Residential Finance Corp., giving his forecast for interest rates, what will happen to affect them and where the lending opportunities may be in 2016. A great start with some great information.
Barry was followed by the opening general session’s groundbreaking industry leader’s panel hosted by Regina Lowrie, Past Chair of MBA, and the founder & CEO of RML Investments. This panel included:
- Terese Bryce, President of Radian Guaranty
- Garry Cipponeri, President & CEO Trade Room Capital
- Bill Emerson, CEO Quicken loans & Current MBA Chairman
- Stan Middleman, President & CEO Freedom Mortgage
- Peter Norden, CEO HomeBridge Financial Services, and
- Jennifer Whip, VP 7 Head of Customer Management, Business Development @ Fannie Mae
As you can see, there were some pretty big hitters in this lineup. Bill Emerson, and the group, opened up discussing the effects of the new CFPB regs on the mortgage industry and what’s being done, and needs to be done, in Washington to help clear things up. They also discussed at length what a lender should do in the case of a CFPB audit.
Peter Norden offered that lenders should be open and transparent with the auditors. Provide what they request in a timely manner and most importantly, only answer the questions that are asked. Stan Middleman added that you should be prepared with written policies and procedures, available to employees. Employees should not only be aware of, and trained on, these policies/procedures but be conducting your business in accordance with these guidelines and requirements. CFPB will check.
The panel went on to speak about Capital Markets, the need for access to liquidity by non-bank mortgage lenders, the state of the GSEs, outreach programs conducted by Radian to educate and attract more first-time and low to moderate income home buyers, and the general state of the mortgage and housing markets. It was truly one of those times when they say, “You just had to be there!”
To round out the morning was a panel, moderated by yours truly, which discussed current and future regulatory and legal requirements of which lenders need to be aware of to avoid, problems, rejected deliveries, repurchases, major fines and jail time. I was joined by:
- Ken Markison, VP & Regional Counsel at MBA
- Richard Horn, Richard Horn PLLC, & architect of the TRID rules while at CFBP
- Jack Konyk, Executive Director, WeinerBrodskyKidder, PC
- Ari Karen, Principle, OffitKurman Attorneys at Law
We discussed what lenders need to know to avoid the pitfalls with TRID compliance, Fair Lending, Disparate Impact, LO Comp MSAs and HMDA. A comprehensive overview of what and how to do it, and what not to do, and what might happen if you do. If you weren’t awake by the time of this session, you surely were if you paid attention during the presentations. This gang knocked it out of the park.
The morning finished off with David Stevens, President & CEO of MBA providing his information and insights on what’s happening inside the Washington, DC beltway and a glimpse of things to come that will affect lenders, the markets, and housing. He spoke about a drastic change in the upcoming demographics in home buyers shifting from the majority of white, non-Hispanic buyers now to a predominant share of Hispanic and other minority buyers in the near future. Lenders need to be prepared to service these changes.
I sure hope you were there to get the full story and the benefits of these sessions and presentations. If not, there’s always next year; same place, same month. Hope you made it, or will make it in the future.
Well, I’m off to this morning’s open town hall meeting that will include the above speakers, as well as, all others that participated in other programs. A who’s who in mortgage lending. I call it “Everything you always wanted to know about mortgage lending and now have the opportunity to ask”. Can’t miss this one.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Have one on me.
