MBA Chief Addresses State of the Industry Amidst Coronavirus

As the nation braces for a potential lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) as the death toll rises, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Broeksmit, CMB has issued the following statement regarding the response to the ongoing spread and impact of the virus:

 

“MBA commends the recent actions and ongoing efforts taken by the administration, Federal Reserve, and Congress to help both consumers and businesses during this difficult time. The industry can be most helpful to many homeowners by more efficiently refinancing their mortgages, thereby reducing their monthly payments. This can be an important component of the economic stimulus, and we are working to remove hurdles that could impede that.

 

“The mortgage finance industry is also highly focused on efforts to streamline policies and procedures that will allow lenders to assist borrowers experiencing hardships through this current situation by providing forbearance relief, suppressing negative credit reporting, and other assistance.

 

“To enable the industry to deliver both economic stimulus and hardship relief, a number of issues need to be addressed–including streamlined appraisal processes, potential liquidity backstops for servicers, increased adoption of remote online notarization, and solving for title insurance issues given the growing number of county recorder office closings. To achieve this, we are working with a broad range of stakeholders, including regulatory agencies and the GSEs, to help mitigate economic impacts as Americans are encouraged to limit their social interactions.

 

“MBA looks forward to continuing to work with policymakers and all other stakeholders toward helping everyone get through the worst of this challenging situation.”

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