Wilma Causes Many to Cancel

The threat of Hurricane Wilma has caused many who planned to attend this year's Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention to cancel.It was impossible to confirm the number of nonattendees, but approximately one-quarter of those registered may have canceled. Wilma made landfall in Southwest Florida Monday morning as a category 3 hurricane. Companies whose top executives have elected to skip the convention and instead have reduced contingents include ABN Amro, Countrywide, First American, Washington Mutual, and Indy Mac. The cancellations resulted in the postponement of an event planned for Sunday afternoon by Compliance Ease. The heads of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- Daniel Mudd and Richard Syron, respectively -- both scheduled to be speakers at a Monday morning general session, were among those who canceled.