Of the 40,000 mortgage originators registered with the California Department of Real Estate, only 15,000 have completed the process to comply with the SAFE Act, Dale DiGennaro, president of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals told attendees at the group's meeting in Long Beach, Calif.
The industry is now showing signs of improvement after three years of upheaval. Much has changed since the last time the organization (then called the California Association of Mortgage Brokers) met in this city back in 2007, he noted. During that convention, First Magnus shut its doors, while depositors became antsy about the future prospects of IndyMac.
But while things are getting better, DiGennaro said, there are still a lot of items to deal with, including various reform bills.
In the mode of David Letterman, DiGennaro provided his top 10 list of what affected the industry in recent years. It started at No. 10 with the Red Flags rules, followed by changes to Reg. Z, changes at the Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration; Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac guideline changes and lender overlays; the SAFE Act; the good-faith estimate; the financial reform bill; the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, winding up at No. 1 with the Federal Reserve's just released rule on originator compensation.
As for the SAFE Act, DiGennaro said it was a good thing overall, as it will improve the professionalism of the industry and it resulted in a "thinning of the herd."
Among the good news for the industry is higher conforming loan limits and increased access for mortgage brokers to the FHA program; DiGennaro thanked Wells Fargo for leading the way on the latter.
