LONG BEACH, CA-At its planned meetings with California's Congressional representatives, the California Association of Mortgage Professionals is hoping to get across its concerns about the real world impact of the financial reform bill, the group's Washington-based lobbyist said.
Speaking at a CAMP meeting in Long Beach, Calif., Lesli McCollum Gooch said organization members needed to let their federal representatives know of their opinion, no matter which side of the aisle the representative and the originator are on.
If the representative does not "get it," she said, it is because industry members did not help them to understand the issues. "We need to make them get it."
She told an anecdote about a meeting she and now-immediate past president Ed Smith Jr. had with Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., where they were able to show her issues with the new good-faith estimate. Waters has since recognized the group as a leader in the industry, Gooch said.
It is about developing relationships and nurturing those relationships, Gooch explained.
Before you are a Democrat or Republican, she said later, "You are a mortgage professional first." The only thing that changes is how the information is presented, because each side of the aisle has different priorities.
There are still opportunities to amend the financial reform bill because there are likely to be technical corrections, if not substantive corrections, made to the legislation.
In making the industry's case, policymakers need to know that mortgage professionals are trusted advisors and they need to know that the broker channel is needed because if it goes away, consumers could lose options.
Among the concerns about the financial reform bill CAMP is looking to speak about on Aug. 25 is that language in the bill might be interpreted as requiring a standard fee for all loans, whether it be a flat fee or a fixed percentage.
This could limit consumer options because it might result in lower availability of smaller loans and in higher interest rates.
The group is worried about creating confusion for consumers because unclear disclosures could result in borrowers unable to tell which loan option costs more.
CAMP is also worried that the bill could favor the larger banks over the smaller originators, resulting in larger market share and damaging competition, forcing smaller originators out of business.
Gooch declared unless originators contact their representatives, she is "totally ineffective in Washington."
Fred Kreger, CAMP's government affairs committee chairman, made a boxing analogy and said that 2009 was a year of defense, where the industry survived by using a defensive posture, like Rocky Balboa.
"I want to turn it around. I want us to stop getting beat up, continuing with the cliché, "the best defense is a good offense."
Last year was a year of accomplishment as CAMP "created and implemented strategies to keep the broker channel viable," Kreger said. The challenge now, is "maintaining the energy and funding to do it all over again."
