[ad_1]
With mortgage rates above 7%, historically low levels of housing inventory, defaults in commercial real estate, and a host of potentially burdensome regulations to come, Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit said the trade group is doing everything it can to influence policymakers.
“MBA can’t control macroeconomic forces, but what we can do is make sure the actions of policymakers help our industry rather than hinder it at a crucial time,” Broeksmit said at the Risk Management and Compliance Conference. of the organization this week in Washington, DC.
Broeksmit highlighted the group’s work in helping a remote online notarization bill pass the divided U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would create federal minimum standards to allow notaries to conduct remote online notarization (RON) transactions. The MBA also supported Rep. John Rose’s (R-TN) effort to curb trigger clues, she said.
Broeksmit also addressed agency-focused policy work, citing the cancellation of a controversial Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) policy that would have imposed a controversial upfront fee on fanny mae and freddy mac borrowers with higher debt-to-income (DTI) ratios.
The trade group has its eyes on other future challenges, including a proposal from Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in the US Department of the Treasury that would label non-bank financial entities as systemically important financial institutions, which MBA opposes.
“This will be a significant regulatory power grab over a part of the housing finance market that is already well regulated by states and other federal agencies,” Broeksmit said. “If the FSOC is concerned about core banking activities being carried out outside the scope of prudential banking regulation, then it should reconsider the regulatory environment that has caused so many traditional depository institutions to exit the market. If everyone out of business is regulated, who is left to originate and repay these loans?
MBA also expects a United States Supreme Court A decision is expected early next year that will decide the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Broeksmit added.
“While the MBA has disagreements with many of the Bureau’s regulatory actions, we take a strong position on the need for consistency and our opposition to chaos,” he said, noting that the MBA has filed an amicus brief saying the same thing.
MBA is also attentive to a developing case before the District Court of Maryland in the US where the CFPB and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) aim to hold lenders responsible for the actions of third-party appraisers when those actions result in bias or discrimination during the appraisal process, something MBA also opposes.
“Lenders cannot be held vicariously liable on fair lending grounds for the actions or input of an independent third party, such as a valuer or (AVM) provider,” Broeksmit said. “MAVs hold great promise as an opportunity to alleviate appraiser shortages, minimize bias, and reduce transaction costs. Clear rules are needed for us to remain engaged with federal policymakers on ways to reduce bias and improve accuracy for AVM users of all sizes and business models.”