The Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA) is a voluntary, non-partisan and free nationwide grassroots lobbying network of real estate finance industry professionals, affiliated with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MAA is dedicated to strengthening the industry's voice and lobbying power in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across America.
Membership in MAA achieves real results. In late April, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a letter in response to an MBA-led effort seeking additional clarity on several aspects of the Know Before You Owe rule. The Bureau’s response outlined an expedited rulemaking process that should provide lenders, the secondary market and consumers the clarity and consistency of disclosures that are sorely needed. Also, the House recently unanimously passed an MBA-supported bill that would make it easier for private insurers to offer flood insurance coverage. None of this could happen without the grassroots support of MAA leaders!
But much work remains to be done. Over the past few months, 1,862 MAA members have written letters to 351 Congressional offices in support of HR 2121, a bill that would provide transitional licensing authority to originate mortgages for individuals who move from a federally-insured institution to a non-bank lender or from one state to another while they work to meet the SAFE Act’s licensing and testing requirements.
Thank you to those MAA members who have already taken action. For those who haven't—visit Action.MBA.org and help make sure the bill is considered by the full House!
Getting involved with MAA allows industry professionals to play an active role in how laws and regulations that affect the industry and consumers are created and carried out by lobbying and building relationships with policymakers. It only takes a moment to get started, and you do not have to be a member of MBA to enroll. The larger the group, the louder the voice!
If you would like to run an MAA campaign, please contact Peter Shapiro at (202) 557-2933 or e-mail [email protected] to receive an enrollment campaign kit and learn more about how you can engage your colleagues and employees in MBA’s advocacy programs.
Real estate finance industry professionals who wish to join or learn more about MAA can do so at Action.MBA.org. If you have any questions regarding MBA’s advocacy programs, please contact MBA’s Director of Political Affairs Annie Gawkowski at (202) 557-2816 or e-mail [email protected].
Fowler Williams is chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Action Alliance. He is also president of Atlanta, Ga.-based Crescent Mortgage. He may be reached by phone at (800) 851-0263 or e-mail [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the May 2016 print edition of National Mortgage Professional Magazine.
