Hi, I’m Adam DeSanctis with the Mortgage Minute, the latest news from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Last week, the US House offered an amended version of the Twenty-first Century Road to Housing Act, negotiated by House Financial Services Chairman French Hill and ranking member Maxine Waters. MBA is supporting the uni- updated package because it reflects significant improvements driven by MBA advocacy and industry feedback. The revised legislation addresses several major concerns MBA raised with the Senate-passed bill, particularly provisions that could have disrupted rental housing capital flows and negatively impacted FHA multifamily loan limits. It also makes important changes to single family FHA disclosure requirements for veterans, while preserving key reforms MBA supported for USDA RHS lending programs and the GSEs reconsideration of value appraisal process. MBA is also closely monitoring language requiring first look programs for owner occupants or HUD-qualified nonprofits to be offered by servicers on REO properties in order to be excluded from the definition of an institutional investor. Overall, this is an important step forward for the housing finance system and a much stronger bipartisan package overall. At the same time, discussions remain ongoing among House and Senate leaders and the White House ahead of a possible House vote this week. MBA will continue engaging with policymakers and keeping members informed as negotiations evolve, including additional advocacy guidance and a revised Mortgage Action Alliance call to action in the days ahead. 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.