Chair: MBA to Become a 'Lean Mortgage Machine'

The chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, David Kittle, said there are changes coming to the organization that will make it a "lean mortgage machine going forward." He told attendees at the Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations in Atlantic City those changes will make MBA run like an entrepreneurial business. Details will come by the end of this month. Mr. Kittle made the theme of his speech, "If not now, when?" Speaking to the power of what one person can do, he noted the number of people in the room equals the gap in the disputed U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. As for issues with warehouse liquidity, MBA is meeting with the U.S. Treasury Department looking for the establishment of loan participation programs by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and/or the Federal Home Loan Banks. Such a program will reduce capital requirements for lenders and free up funds to be used to originate loans, he said. He addressed the cramdown issue, calling for members to fight for changes to the law. If the industry does not do something about it, "they will do something to us," Mr. Kittle said. He also said he is working with other housing trade groups to go to get a $15,000 tax credit for home purchases, and he called on the administration to drop plans to limit the mortgage interest deduction, declaring, "President Obama, don't kill it, expand it."