FHA Chief to Mortgage Bankers: Look Beyond Your Wallets

Federal Housing Administration commissioner David Stevens urged mortgage bankers to "think a little less about your own wallets and more about integrity and responsibility" in their efforts to mold legislation to reform the nation's financial system. "Make your case, but make it for the right reason," he said at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Secondary Market Conference in New York. After MBA president John Courson prodded members to deliver their message to lawmakers—"The issues before us will affect the very shape and form of lending in the future," he said—Stevens took to the podium to warn that advocating for the industry alone is the wrong message to take to their legislators on Capitol Hill. "Washington doesn't trust this industry at all," he told a crowd of about 1,500 at the Hilton New York. "It's not about protecting mortgage banking, it's about protecting the American dream. That's the only issue that has credence in Washington today." The FHA commissioner said that while there is plenty of blame to go around for the financial crisis, the "general consensus" in Washington is that housing finance "is the industry that brought the world to the brink of financial ruin." On a brighter note, Stevens also told the conference that most signs are pointing to a housing market turnaround. The sector is "slowly starting to come back," he said. "You can feel a growing confidence in the market, and you can sense more willingness to invest."