Advocacy Update 3 23 12

MBA ADVOCACY UPDATE

March 23, 2012

The Senate cleared the STOCK Act on Thursday on a nearly unanimous 96-3 vote. The legislation, whose central purpose is to crack down on insider trading by members of Congress and their staffs, contains an amendment offered by Senator John McCain that bars senior executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from receiving bonuses while the firms are in conservatorship. The bill now goes to President Obama who has said he will sign it into law.

In this Issue:
MBA Meets with CFPB Director Cordray on National Servicing Standards Project
On Monday, March 12, 2012, Deb Still, Chairman-elect of MBA and Chairman of MBA's Council on Residential Mortgage Servicing for the 21st Century and Dave Stevens, President and CEO of MBA met with Richard Cordray, Director of the CFPB to discuss CFPB's project to develop national servicing standards. MBA followed up with a letter to Mr. Cordray on March 20, 2012. In the letter MBA states that it believes that the AG settlement agreement contains a robust set of consumer protections and should be used by the CFPB as the framework for developing national servicing standards. The letter also states that a key concern in this endeavor is to make sure that additional barriers to entry to the servicing segment of our industry are not created. MBA believes that its members can assist CFPB in identifying any significant operational difficulties to smaller servicers that may result from the servicing standards contained in the AG settlement.

In its letter, MBA volunteered to assist the CFPB in this important project including offering practical alternatives that will provide the protections to the consumer without undue cost to the smaller servicers. For more information, please contact Jim Gross(202) 557-2860 or Vicki Vidal (202) 557-2861.

MBA Holds Successful Call with Independent Mortgage Bank Members
MBA held the first in a series of regular conference calls with our Independent Mortgage Bank members on Tuesday, March 23, 2012. The call, which was joined by more than 100 people, was led by MBA President and CEO David Stevens and included a discussion of national and state-levelhousing market trends, as well as the latest updates on MBA's efforts on key policy issues, including state licensing, buybacks and loan officer compensation. On the call, MBA also announced plans to host a new conference aimed solely at independent mortgage banks, to be held in Dallas, Texas on November 7-9. For more information about the MBA's efforts to engage our Independent Mortgage Bank members, please visit the new Independent Mortgage Bank resource center, or contact Peter Grace (202) 557-2890.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Added to Speakers at MBA National Advocacy Conference
This week, MBA announced that Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) will join Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan among the speakers addressing attendees at MBA's National Advocacy Conference, which takes place on April 18-19th in Washington, DC. The Senator is Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (or "Super Committee") and ViceChair of the Joint Committee on Taxation. He plays a major role on tax reform and g-fees. For more information about the conference and to register, click here or contact William Kooper wkooper@mortgagebankers.org (202) 557-3737.

Industry Developments:
Secretary Donovan Testifies on HUD Budget and FHA
On Wednesday, March 21, 2012, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and HUD on the department's budget request for fiscal year 2013. Donovan's testimony focused on the role FHA's single-family and multifamily programs have played in responding to the disruptions in the mortgage markets and the steps he is taking to ensure these programs' long-term solvency.
For more information, please contact Len Wolfson (202) 557-2712.

MBA Comment and Congressional Letter(s):
MBA, Leading Builders and RESPRO Write to Cordray on Effects of Three Percent Limit On Builders And Consumers. For more information, please contact Ken Markison (202) 557-2930.

Congressional Hearings:

March
27      House Committee on Financial Services: Hearing entitled "Federal Reserve Aid to the Eurozone: Its Impact on the U.S. and the Dollar"

27      House Committee on Financial Services: Markup to consider the following measures: Amendment in the nature of a substitute to the discussion draft, H.R. ____, the FHA Emergency Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012, as ordered reported on February 7, 2012, by the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity; H.R. 2446, the RESPA Home Warranty Clarification Act of 2011; H.R. 3283, the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act; and H.R. 4325, the Swap Data Repository and Clearinghouse Indemnification Correction Act of 2012

27      Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs: The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative: A New Community Development Model

28      Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs: Retirement (In)security: Examining the Retirement Savings Deficit

28      House Committee on Financial Services: Hearing entitled "Accounting and Auditing Oversight: Pending Proposals and Emerging Issues Confronting Regulators, Standard Setters and the Economy"

28      House Committee on Financial Services: Hearing entitled "The Collapse of MF Global: Part 3"

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