Advocacy Update 2 24 12

MBA ADVOCACY UPDATE

February 24, 2012

The House and Senate spent the short week in recess for the Presidents' Day holiday, with both chambers returning to work on Monday. Earlier in the week, the Federal Housing Finance Authority submitted to Congress its strategic plan for the next phase of conservatorship of the GSEs. The plan identifies three strategic goals, including building a new secondary mortgage market infrastructure, gradually contracting the GSEs' dominant presence in the marketplace, and maintaining foreclosure prevention activities and credit availability. MBA President and CEO Dave Stevens issued a statement in general support of the plan, though it remains unclear what impact FHFA's move will have on the overall reform debate.

In this Issue:
MBA Joins Other Trade Associations in Joint Letters to the SEC and PCAOB
On Thursday, February 23, 2012, all 10 members of the FIRCA coalition, including MBA, sent joint letters to the Chairman of the SEC and the Chairman of the PCAOB related to the PCAOB's rule proposal last year that called for public companies to rotate audit firms. The letter to the PCAOB points out that out of 611 comment letters received by the PCAOB, only three letters favored the proposed rule. Yet PCAOB is moving forward with roundtable discussions and additional due diligence on the proposal. The letters to PCAOB and the SEC both recommend that the PCAOB establish a Business Advisory Group. "If the PCAOB had a business advisory group, it could have consulted with them and received input early in the process to understand the business and audit committee concerns with the issue. This may have lead to a differently tailored concept release or a decision not to pursue it at all."

The letter to the SEC points out that the proposed rule appears to be outside the PCAOB's audit standards setting authority and within the authority of the SEC over corporate governance. For more information, please contact Jim Gross (202) 557-2860.

MBA Holds Successful Servicing Conference and Expo
This past week, MBA held its National Servicing Conference and Expo in Orlando, FL, where more than 2,000 attendees discussed a variety of servicing issues, including the AG Mortgage Servicing Settlement and its implications for the Industry. Attendees heard from executives at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, CFPB as well as lenders and other industry experts. For more information, please contact Vicki Vidal (202) 557-2861 vvidal@mortgagebankers.org.

MBA Calls Grassroots to Action in Arizona
MBA and the Mortgage Action Alliance continue to urge industry professionals in Arizona to take action to defeat a bill, SB 1451, in the Arizona Senate. It would establish a new state mortgage servicing agency to use the power of eminent domain to buy residential loans from lien holders and cram down the debt to the lender. The bill was passed unanimously by the Budget Committee and is awaiting action by the Appropriations Committee. For more information, please contact Andrew Szalay (202) 557-2941.

MBA's 2012 National Advocacy Conference
MBA's annual legislative lobbying event on Capitol Hill will feature remarks from Washington insiders who will address the participants at this year's National Advocacy Conference. The conference is your opportunity to speak directly with law- and policymakers who are deciding the future of the real estate finance industry. It has never been more important for you to attend the conference and be personally involved in the industry's free grassroots advocacy efforts, the Mortgage Action Alliance, Inc. (MAA). Our success in the weeks and months ahead will only come with strong participation from you. It is crucial that you bring the industry's message to Capitol Hill by attending the conference on April 18-19, 2012. To visit the Conference Web site, click here. For more information, please contact William Kooper wkooper@mortgagebankers.org (202) 557-3737. To enroll in MAA, click here.

Industry Developments:
FHA Pre-proposes Seller Concessions Rule
On Thursday, February 23, 2012, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) re-proposed a rule to reduce the amount of closing costs a seller, or other interested third party, may pay on behalf of a homebuyer. The current seller concession cap is six percent. This rule was initially proposed on July 15, 2010. The changes to the original proposal include: 1) reducing the amount of seller concessions permitted as offsets to actual closing costs to three percent or $6,000, whichever is greater, but not allow the offsets in any case to exceed the borrower's actual costs; and 2) limiting acceptable uses of seller concessions to payments toward borrower closing costs, prepaid items, discount points, the upfront mortgage insurance premium, and any interest rate buydown. The comment period ends March 26, 2012. MBA will be providing written comments. If you have any questions, please contact Tamara King 202-557-2758.

MBA Comment and Congressional Letter(s):
MBA Submits Comment Letter Responding to an Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking By The National Credit Union Administration.For more information, please contact Mike Carrier (202) 557-2870.

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