Robbins: It Was 'Terrific Year'

Did John Robbins pick "the wrong year" to chair the Mortgage Bankers Association? Not by his account."It was a terrific year," in every sense of the word, Mr. Robbins said in his final address to the MBA at the group's annual conference in Boston. Noting that the word means "intense" and "frightening" as well as "marvelous," the 2007 chair said that if anything was accomplished during his year at the association's helm, it was that the MBA was heard, loud and clear. "The MBA leadership made more appearances before Congress, gave more interviews to the press, and had more one-on-one meetings with legislators and regulators than in any other year in the MBA's 94-year history," he said. As a result, he added, no onerous predatory lending laws were passed, at least on the federal level, and progress was made on good legislation that would reform the Federal Housing Administration and simplify the lending process.