The Texas Mortgage Bankers Association is making history once again. In this episode, David Lykken sits down with Scott Norman, President of the TMBA, to discuss how the organization is redefining what a state association can be—by becoming a destination for collaboration, innovation, and thought leadership. As the TMBA prepares to host the Texas Housing Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Housing and Urban Development Act, Scott shares the vision behind the event, the impressive lineup of national speakers, and the mission to shape the future of homeownership across America. From regulatory reform to housing affordability, this summit—and this conversation—showcases why Texas is leading the way.
[David] Listeners, I’m excited to have Scott Norman joining me. He is the President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, and we’re going to be talking about an upcoming event that you all need to really be thinking about coming to. So, Scott, welcome to the podcast. Good to have you here, friend.
[Scott] Well, thanks for having me on. I’ve been a big fan of yours and the podcast for a long time. So to be able to be on is uh is quite the honor.
[David] Well, I appreciate those kind words and I appreciate so much what you’re doing at the TMBA. But more importantly, the vision that you have for the trade association, the Texas Mortgage Bank Association, but it’s really being an example, Scott, of what you’re encouraging other state associations to do, and that is looking at the bigger picture, the five-year objective, what is the purpose of each state association? Yes, it’s to take care of the members, but you’re thinking bigger. You’re thinking I love that you’re you think like a strategic thinker and and so and a thought leader. So it’s good to have you here. And I want to get into the event, but give us an update on yourself, TMBA, how’s everything going?
[Scott] Well, the TMBA is going great. So I took over as the as the CEO about a year ago, and have really been very fortunate. Jody Morgan Cochrane, who had been our President when I came on was outstanding to work with. Erin Dee, right now, is our current President, and Erin, I think almost everybody on the show probably knows of Erin. She’s amazing. Pam Jenkins and Nolan Turner are on our officer ladder. And so we’ve been really fortunate. And one thing we really tried to focus on, you know, we’re a hundred-year-old association, 108 years old. Matter of fact, this coming Friday is the 108th anniversary of our very first convention in Dallas, Texas, in 1917. So we feel like we’ve got a lot of responsibility to not just be kind of a trade association and worry about what kind of chicken’s being served at our conferences, but really how do we really move the needle of homeownership in not only in Texas, but in the United States. And we’re really, really fortunate to have, we’ve got a great board, we’ve got 30 people on our board, and we really have focused on the last year to do a couple of things. One, we really focused on membership. In a time where I think a lot of people are really concerned about membership, our membership is up over 25% in the last year.
[David] Wow. That’s impressive. You have up 25% is testimony to your leadership and vision. That’s tremendous.
[Scott] Well, it’s really a one, it’s a it’s a big team we’ve got. And we really focus, we really try not to take advantage of who’s gonna get the credit. We’re just kind of trying to say, look, we just want to win and we want to move the needle, and we want this place, like I said, not to be an association, but a destination. And I think that that kind of vision is something that people not only in Texas but around the country are starting to look at us because a lot of our new members are from outside of Texas. They really are. And so we’ve really been focused on that. Our pack is almost a hundred percent bigger than it was a year ago. So we’re doing a lot of things that that I think are trying to move the needle. Our overall engagement uh as far as kind of heads and beds, if you will, it’s up uh almost 30% over the last year. So the metrics we use, we feel very comfortable that the trajectory that we’re on now and over the next four or five years will be something that will really kind of make the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association really kind of, hopefully, if we do our job right and we’re humble about it, the pre-eminent mortgage bankers association in the country, but also really one of the premier really housing associations in the country. And that’s really important to us that we really work with people not just on the mortgage side. We’ve got home builders, we’ve got realtors, we’ve got title companies, we’ve got servicers, we’ve got some of the biggest servicers in the country that are our members. And so we’re really, really fortunate that we’ve got a very engaged board, we’ve got a very engaged membership, and it certainly helps, as you know, that we’re in you know, Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio, which are really some of the you know fastest growing country. So that helps.
[David] Yeah, and Erin Dee is just amazing. I’m a big fan of her. I recognized her early, early on, years and years ago, and had her on the podcast, encouraged her into some speaking roles as she stepped out. Man, watching her bloom. Also, Pam Jenkins, I’ve had the privilege of working with Pam, consulting to her at several places. So you’ve got a great leadership ladder, and but it really takes the administrative leadership which you’ve brought to really drive this, continue to drive this forward. That each one of them goes in and out a year, and so you’re the one that brings the consistency. And one of the things you talked about is bringing this to a destination, getting people to recognize a bigger picture. So let’s talk about the event that I believe you came up with the idea of Scott, and I think it’s outstanding. It’s the upcoming anniversary of our favorite organizations, uh HUD.
[Scott] Sure. So part of President Lyndon Johnson’s uh great society was really the creation of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965. This is the 60th anniversary, and the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association is really almost housed in the shadow of the LBJ Library. And about a year ago, we went to Markup to Grove and the LBJ Foundation with the thought of why don’t we try to put together a housing summit, bring the premier thought leaders from around the United States into Austin, Texas, help showcase the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, showcase President Johnson’s housing legacy, Austin, Texas, the LBJ Library, and really put together something that if you’re from Houston, Texas, or you’re from San Diego, California, or Miami, Florida, that you’re gonna look at what we have at our LBJ, it’s our housing summit, our Texas Housing Summit, to say these are some of the real thought leaders that are gonna talk about the issues that are gonna face the mortgage industry, not only now, but over the next four or five years. And so when you look at the RSVP list we already have, we’ve got people from over 15 different states that have already RSVP’d, and we’re still on our early bird stuff. So we think that this is going to be something that every mortgage company, every servicer, every home builder, uh every realtor in the in the state of Texas and really throughout the country should come because we really think we’ve got something for everybody.
[David] Yeah, you really do. I mean, and I think it’s so significant that it was started here by Lyndon Baines Johnson 60 years ago. So and we’re gonna have it at the library there on the UT campus. Talk about what you have planned as far as the agenda. It’s a packed agenda and it goes all day long.
[Scott] It is a one-day event. We’re gonna start at 8:30 in the morning and we’re gonna go all the way until 5:30. We’ve got an amazing session with uh about GSEs with Ed DeMarco, we’ve got Paul Romanowski, who’s the CEO of DR Horton, we’ve got Bryant Montgomery coming, we’ve got Elena McCargo coming in, talking about kind of the politics of Washington, D.C. What are we doing today? We’ve got a session on M&A work, we’ve got a session on reverse mortgages, we’ve got a session just on the regulatory environment with some banks and mortgage companies, and we’ve got some people from the Texas Association of Realtors that are coming in to really talk about what they are working on, not only on the state side, but on the federal side. And so, really, almost wherever you fit within what I’ll call the residential pyramid, we’re gonna have something that works for you. You can certainly go to our website, texasmba.org, and we’ve got a ton of information about our housing summit. But we think that this is going to be something that’ll be very unique in the United States. I don’t think anybody else is really putting on something as purely housing related as what we’re putting on, and we’re really excited. It’s on November the 4th, which is a Tuesday, and so there’s really nothing.
[David] People fly in Monday because it starts at 8:30. And then it goes literally all day until 5:30. So it may be a two-night stay in Austin. Not a bad place to stay, though. It’s great to be.
[Scott] It is not a bad place to stay, depending on your appetite. We’ve got barbecue, Mexican food, steaks, we’ve got a little bit of everything for everybody. As you said, it’s at the LBJ Library, which is right on the campus of the University of Texas. It’s right Caddy Corner from Darrell Royal Memorial Stadium. So if you’re a football fan, it’s literally in the shadow of Memorial Stadium. And it’s just uh we think it’s gonna be a really big scene. President Erin Dee certainly will be there, she’s gonna be speaking, Pam Jenkins will be speaking, Nolan Turner on our side will be speaking. And we’re really we’re like I said, we’re trying to hit something for everybody. And so wherever you fit within that residential real estate pyramid, there’s really something for you. And I think that if you look at just the number of heads that we’re that we’re expecting, we’re very excited about what we’re what we’re building. Certainly we’ve got another six weeks to go, but we think that the trajectory we’re on right now is going to lead to what we really believe, um, and I don’t say this with any real arrogance, but I do believe that we’re gonna put together the premier housing summit in the United States this year.
[David] That’s outstanding. Another good reason to go is you’re gonna get a chance to meet some dignitaries. I mean significantly. Brian Montgomery, dear dear friend, will be there speaking, but some others will be there. So I think someone’s saying, well, this is a celebration of a very large but ancient old organization. Why do I really need to be there? But I think it’s really important. Add to that why they should be there.
[Scott] Well, certainly we’re going to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Housing and Urban Development Act, but this is really going to be that’s really just a small piece of that puzzle. The bigger piece is, you know, Joe Gormley’s gonna be there, uh Matt Turner’s going to be there. So we really think this is gonna be a deep dive, a truly educational conference. It’s not gonna be a lot of fluff, there’s not gonna be a lot of balloons, there’s not gonna be a lot of cupcakes. This is gonna be something that we really think is going to be beneficial to if you’re a first-year loan officer or if you’re a C-suite person on the servicing side, we think that there’s gonna be something for everybody. And our goal is really we’ve got really one primary goal. Did you come and go? And did you learn something you didn’t know before? And did you meet somebody that you needed to meet? Because we also think some of the networking opportunities are gonna be pretty premier because we think the people that are gonna be not only our speakers, but those that’ll be in attendance are gonna be pretty significant. And like I said, you can go to the website texasmba.org and get a list of all of our speakers. But yeah, this is while it is a celebration, it is a housing summit in the purest sense. And so we really think that if like you said, if you’re in the mortgage industry in the United States, this is we believe it’s really kind of a can’t miss opportunity for you to really hear you know what’s going on. Now, a lot can happen in the next six weeks in housing. I mean it’s a pretty fascinating time to be in the housing summit housing side. But you know, if you’re talking about GSEs, if you’re talking about servicing, you’re talking about interest rates, you’re talking about, you know, where are we gonna be with Fannie and Freddie next year, maybe this year. There’s a lot to really be discussed, and we think that the speakers we’re having are gonna give you a kind of a behind-the-scenes approach of what is really going on in Washington, DC, what’s really going on in the state houses, certainly Texas just finished our legislative session, right? But this is gonna be a little bit of a federal issue, and the celebration is really something that’s nice because we have the opportunity to partner with the LBJ Foundation, and that’s just a very unique venue to be able to come and be in a presidential library, talk about housing, and certainly while it may honor President Johnson, and look, a lot of the people that may be coming, certainly they may have been born after President Johnson passed away. And so it’s not that, it’s really more of a kind of a CMB scene, but more importantly, we’re trying to educate you, we’re trying to put everybody that comes in a position where they really learned whatever you think you know, we really think that one of our sessions or two of our sessions or five of our sessions, because like you said, it’s all day. It’s it’s all day from 8:30 to 5.30 on Tuesday, November the 4th. We think it’s gonna be a pretty pretty great deal, and you’ll be there as well. So we’re excited to have you.
[David] I’m looking so forward to being there. And one of the things that I think we need to stress here, this is not one of those things you can register on site. One of the requirements of the library is that they had all the registrations decided in advance, so that you must register in advance. Is there anything we need to say more about that, Scott?
[Scott] Yeah, no, that that that’s a great point. Since it is a presidential library, there are a lot of protocols that go with the presidential library because it’s the LBJ Foundation, it’s the LBJ Library, it’s the National Archives. There’s a lot to hosting a conference there, and so you have to register before, and you can just go to our website, and you don’t have to be a member. So we’ve got members, non-members, it’s all the same price, and we think the price point of it is pretty low and pretty significant, uh, significantly beneficial. But that’s texasmba.org. You can go there and you can register, but you do need to indeed register in advance. But if something happens and you show up the day of, we’ll probably we’ll figure out a way to get you in.
[David] You should be out in the parking lot, registration out in the parking lot.
[Scott] Well, certainly seating is limited, so that’s the other part about this. That’s the other thing.
[David] Yeah, there is other and there’s gonna be a lot of people wanting to attend this thing, especially as the word gets out. Scott, this is really exciting. Again, I’m really excited about the leadership you’re bringing, not only to Texas, but actually to all the state associations across the nation. We need to have healthy, vibrant state associations. And what you’re bringing to TMBA is just really refreshing. And I hope many others out there. I’m thinking of Susan out in California, Joanna Mizaraka, dear dear friend up in Michigan. I mean, they all bring good leadership, but you’re you’re you’re upping the game for all of them. I think it’s really good. Thank you so much. Appreciate what you’re doing for our industry, for the state of Texas, and for the mortgage bankers here, and for actually for the whole housing market. Thank you, Scott.
[Scott] David, thank you. Thank you for having me on. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Austin, Texas on Tuesday, November the 4th.
[David] We’ll be there. Looking forward to it. Thank you, Scott.
[Norman] Thank you.
Important Links
A 30-year mortgage banker, Norman got his start as a loan officer with Temple-Inland Mortgage Corporation, later becoming President of the Austin Mortgage Bankers Association. In 1999, Norman captained the original campaign to amend the Texas Constitution to authorize reverse mortgages in the state. In addition to his work in the Lone Star State, Norman has testified numerous times about mortgage lending before the legislatures of California, Arkansas, and Minnesota to help craft legislation to protect homeowners around the country. In 2017, Scott was awarded the Larry E. Temple award, the highest honor the Texas MBA can bestow to one of its members, for his work supporting the mortgage banking industry in Texas.
Most recently, Andrew has led the development of the AngelAi brand, positioning it as a trusted, empathetic guide in financial education and protection. His work centers on crafting emotionally resonant campaigns that advocate for minority empowerment, fair lending, and inclusive financial literacy—embedding advocacy and trust into every message AngelAi delivers.