[Adam] Hi, I'm Adam DeSanctis. This is the Mortgage Minute. The latest news from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The CFPB last week released its anticipated request for information regarding fees imposed in residential mortgage transactions. The RFI seeks input from industry participants, consumers and others on the impact closing costs have had on borrowers and the mortgage market, citing, among other things, the rising cost for credit reports, credit scores, title insurance and employment verification. While the RFI contains no specific policy proposals, NBA and press statements and speeches made by NBA president, CEO Bob brooksmith, has been critical about the CFPB is consistent illogical use of the term junk fee as it pertains to mortgage closing costs. As you know, most of the fees the CFB cites are required by the safety and soundness standards of the GSEs, federal guarantors and banking regulators. They also protect taxpayers and consumers and are fully disclosed to borrowers before they committed to proceed with an application. MBA has been vocal about the sharply rising costs of credit reports and other credit reporting products, and is pleased that the RFI mentions this, providing an opportunity to share concerns about the factors driving these pricing changes amidst challenging market conditions for lenders of all sizes and business models. We welcome the opportunity to respond to the RFI, and we'll work with members to provide an in depth overview on mortgage closing costs, including answering the nine questions posed in the RFI. Comments are due on August 2 of this year. That's it for this week. Thank you for listening.
Adam DeSanctis, Director of Public Affairs 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 considered to be 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.
