Hi, I’m Adam DeSanctis. This is The Mortgage Minute. The latest news from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Last week was a busy one in Washington, MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit and senior staff joined other trade group CEOs and think tank leaders in roundtable meetings on the futures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at the Treasury Department and FHFA and what MBA views as a positive step. The Treasury Department meeting was largely a listening session for senior treasury staff working on this issue. Treasury staff appeared to be equally focused on the complex market implications and policy issues that come with a charting a path to ending the GSEs conservatorship. The FHFA meeting covered many of the same topics as a treasury meeting, and that each MBA shared its list of core principles developed by our board level GSE Task force. As plans evolve, MBA will continue its ongoing engagement efforts with the administration and Congress to ensure critical regulatory and market structure conduct issues are addressed. Our core principles include preserving competition between at least two GSEs ensuring FHFA has an obligation to maintain a level playing field with respect to pricing, pilots, product and underwriting variances. Preserving a bright line to ensure the GSEs do not unfairly compete with their primary market. Maintaining a robust level of bank-like capital and establishing a well-defined paid for federal backstop against the GSEs. MBS that could be tapped only after all, private capital is exhausted. The Treasury Department is hosting another meeting next week that will cover the GSEs multi-family businesses, and they will attend that one. And additionally, several of our members are participating in another treasury meeting with lenders, non-bank servicers, mortgage insurers, investment banks, and regional banks. That’s it for this week. Thank you for listening.
Adam DeSanctis, VP, Communications at Mortgage Bankers Association
As a strategic public affairs and communications executive with nearly two decades of experience, Adam has deep expertise in strategy, management, and media relations. He is widely regarded as an expert in a variety of communications, including advocacy, brand, executive, crisis, grassroots, and social media. In his career, he has been the MBA spokesperson on a wide variety of real estate research and advocacy-related issues, promoted MBA research and advocacy efforts to financial, political, and trade industry media and on MBA’s social media channels, and secured media opportunities for MBA leadership on key real estate trends and issues, generated media coverage for MBA’s research and data on mortgage applications, credit availability, homebuilder applications, mortgage forbearance/delinquencies, commercial real estate originations, and forecasts, and other industry analysis, developed key strategic initiatives for MBA’s organizational public affairs plan, media relations and member communications support for mPower, MBA’s Opens Doors Foundation and MBA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.