New NAMB Prez: Can't Rest on Laurels

Even though the mortgage broker industry has been successful on both a business and a regulatory basis, “we cannot rest on our laurels, our accolades, or our posteriors,” says A.W. Pickel III, the newly installed president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.Speaking to attendees at the group’s annual convention in Baltimore, Mr. Pickel listed five goals for his term. Noting that other issues will face the industry once the Department of Housing and Urban Development's proposed mortgage settlement regulations are finalized, Mr. Pickel said he will dispatch the NAMB regional vice chairs to all the states to provide help on legislative issues. Secondly, he reiterated the call to create a national registry of all loan originators. Thirdly, Mr. Pickel said the large growth in industry participants means there is a need for education "now more than ever,” so he will seek to make more courses available from the NAMB through traditional means as well as online. His fourth goal is to increase NAMB membership in the next 12 months from 18,000 to 25,000. Finally, Mr. Pickel said he wants to offer real-time access to member services, as well as brochures, promotional materials, and the like, through the NAMB website.