The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has announced that David H. Stevens, the association’s president and chief executive officer, will be leaving the organization on June 30, 2012. Stevens will be joining SunTrust Mortgage as the company's new president. Stevens was hired last May after leaving his position as Assistant Secretary for Housing and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).
“Dave has been an exceptional leader for MBA,” said MBA Chairman Michael Young. “Although we are sorry to see him leave so soon, he leaves us well-positioned for the future. Dave delivered on his pledge to enhance MBA’s position as the industry’s leading voice in advocacy, policy, education and research and has developed a dynamic infrastructure for addressing member needs. His insights and leadership have demonstrated the importance of having one large platform where the entire industry can come together in an effort to provide a common voice on the critical issues of the day. The MBA, its leadership and members remain steadfast in our focus to bring solutions that will benefit the entire housing market, borrowers and lenders alike.”
Young has announced that MBA Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President Marcia M. Davies has been designated to be the interim head of the association pending the replacement of Stevens. A search for a permanent replacement is currently underway.
“David Stevens has been a very good friend to NAMB and the entire mortgage business," said Don Frommeyer, president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. "NAMB appreciated him attending the Legislative Conference in 2010 when he worked for HUD and he has always looked out for the originator and the mortgage industry. His work at the MBA helped them to strengthen their association and he will do the same for SunTrust. All of the members of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals wish him well at SunTrust Mortgage.”
A graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, Stevens has a strong background in housing, including experience in finance, construction, sales, mortgage acquisition and investment, and regulatory oversight. He began his journey to HUD at the dining room table, where he listened to stories about the creation of FHA and other efforts to stabilize the housing market from his father, who started as a runner on Wall Street during the depression. The dining room table soon became the board room as Stevens started his professional career with a 16-year tenure at the World Savings Bank. He later held positions as senior vice president of single-family business at Freddie Mac, and then executive vice president, national wholesale manager at Wells Fargo. Prior to being confirmed at HUD, Stevens had been president and chief operating officer of Long and Foster Companies, the nation's largest, privately-held real estate firm.
"David Stevens did a fabulous job at the MBA," said Mike Anderson, CRMS of Essential Mortgage Company, a Latter & Blum Realtors Company. "He was a true champion of the mortgage and housing industry and defiantly left a mark that all trade groups should try and immolate. SunTrust is lucky to have someone of Dave’s caliber and will no doubt move them in stronger position going forward."
