A Message From the MMBA Chair

Excerpts from the 2020 MMBA Chair, Sue Quilty, at the Annual Dinner on January 23, 2020 

Let us pause for a moment and look back to the Annual Dinner in 2019.  Things were tough, volume was low and a hint of recession was in the air. But, as we know the mortgage industry can be unpredictable.  The spring market had another plan for us  and we found ourselves in the middle of consistently high volume. For the majority of MMBA members, we worked to protect our resources week after week as we worked endless hours to get the volume through.  Even with this unprecedented challenge, our companies supported us to dedicate time to the industry that has provided us all with so much through the  MMBA.  How impressive is it that in 2019, despite the pressures we had with our “real” jobs, 8 Committees comprised of 180 volunteers met   throughout the year including the new Technology Committee.  We held 13 education programs including LO Comp, Fraud and the Affordable Lending Summit and of course NEMBC remains in a class by itself.  Hosted with our other New England state associations, it continues to be one of the top mortgage banking conferences in the country.  Expect productive improvements with NEMBC in 2020 and into the future – stay tuned for details!   

 For those of you not aware, in April, our Director, Deb Sousa received the 2019 Outstanding State Association Leadership Award in recognition of her exceptional service in state association advocacy, communications and business development.  Her leadership, hard work and dedication to the partnership among associations has garnered her the highest levels of respect and  appreciation.”  Congratulations, Deb.

It is due to this – the strength of the MMBA leadership, the commitment of our members, the resiliency and the deep-rooted stability of the Association that we can look ahead into  2020  and beyond with renewed confidence.  And there is a lot of work to do as we prepare for massive change – a lot of which is the proverbial unknown.      

Education – with focus on Housing Finance Reform – what a challenge this will be to provide the guidance our members need as changes unfold.  Products and pricing will be different in 2021 and 2020 will be a year of transition with unique demands on education.   We will rely heavily on all Committees to handle Housing Finance Reform without neglecting the other critical areas, such as Fair Lending and HMDA.   We have started conversations internally about improving and changing our approach with Education including increasing our use of technology in our delivery of Education programs. 

• Our efforts with Advocacy make a difference and we need to continue our efforts and do a better job socializing the extent of the necessity of our involvement.  We need to be the voice of reason for the mortgage industry to help legislators understand the inner workings of our world; to protect consumers and our members.  Here is a quick run through of Advocacy efforts in 2019 – it is long but important and shows the extent of the impact we have.Worked to make sure AMC licensing legislation was passed prior to the deadline;
• 2 plus years of effort to successfully get modifications added as an exemption to the bill filed for Debt Collection;
• Tracked over 130 bills and provided written testimony to over 40 bills at 10  legislative public hearings;
• 9 MMBA members attended the National Advocacy conference in DC and discussed important issues with Senators and Congressmen;
• Hosted the annual Beacon Hill Day in June and scheduled 42 legislative meetings to assure that  our industry’s voice can be heard;
• Submitted commentary to the CFPB regarding QM and the expiration of the GSE Patch;
• Filed an Amicus Brief for the Thompson vs. Chase case and will join in a new Amicus Brief in partnership with the MBA, ABA and other joint Associations.  This is an important case and has the potential to create foreclosure nightmares for our members if not resolved.

Digital Transformation: Change is inevitable and we will continue in 2020 to support the digital transformation both in the home-buying process and at MMBA.  The Technology Committee and efforts at NEMBC with the Technology HUB need to continue and expand.  We understand the necessity to invest in this change internally to remain relevant.

Marketing and Social Media: We are excited to expand our marketing and use of social media in 2020.  We have a lot to share about the efforts of MMBA and the MMB Foundation.  Look for some exciting new communication strategies as we spend more time blogging, bragging and boasting.  Let’s be proactive, proud and socialize all that we do. We have much to celebrate and even more stories to tell.

We are posed and poised  for all that 2020 has to offer the mortgage industry.  Thank you all for being here tonight and I look forward to all that we can achieve together in 2020.