David Stevens, a longtime industry advocate and mortgage banking big wig, has died. Stevens had been battling cancer.
“The real estate finance community mourns the loss today of one of its great leaders and fiercest advocates,” MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit said in a statement Wednesday morning. “Dave Stevens grew up in the mortgage business before serving the industry and its customers both as FHA Commissioner during and immediately after the 2008 financial crisis and then as President & CEO of MBA, where he was instrumental in rebuilding our organization and leading the industry out of the Great Recession."
HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said in a statement, "On behalf of the entire U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, I extend my prayers and condolences to the family and friends of former FHA Commissioner David Stevens. Over the course of his 40-year career, David Stevens made a profound impact on the housing industry and on the lives of millions of homeowners and prospective homebuyers, from helping the country navigate the aftermath of the 2008 housing crisis to his continued service as the president of the Mortgage Bankers Association. This country is better because of David’s service and contributions.”
Continued Broeksmit, “To those who worked with him at MBA, Dave is remembered as a great mentor, boss, and friend. He was quick with a joke, sometimes at his own expense, and truly cared about those he worked with and those who worked for him…MBA and the entire industry will miss Dave’s voice, leadership, and friendship. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary, his children, and the rest of his family.”
Broeksmit included in his commentary a note about Stevens’ generosity, writing, “Dave and his wife Mary were instrumental in the 2011 creation of the MBA Opens Doors Foundation, which has helped more than 16,000 families with crucially ill or injured children stay in their homes while their child is in treatment.”
Stevens, who throughout his career provided expert testimony on the mortgage banking industry to policymakers, organizations, and the media, was named Mortgage Professional of the Year by NMP Magazine in 2018.
Stevens held the position of president and CEO at MBA from 2011 to 2018, after a career in real estate and mortgage finance. Between 1998 and 2005, he served as senior vice president of single-family lending at Freddie Mac, overseeing product development, credit risk, and contract negotiations for all single-family businesses. Following that, Stevens took on the roles of executive vice president at Wells Fargo's Wholesale Lending Division and president of Long & Foster Companies.
Immediately before joining MBA, Stevens served as Assistant Secretary of Housing – Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under former President Barack Obama, starting in 2009.
After he retired from the MBA, Stevens was most recently the chief executive officer of Mountain Lake Consulting, a financial services consulting firm focused on the real estate finance sector, and served on the board of Dynex Capital.
Fond Memories
Carl Markman of REMN Wholesale remembered Stevens as a former boss and mentor at World Savings. "David was the one who placed me in management close to 30 years ago," Markman wrote in a statement to NMP. "I remember him taking me out to lunch, telling me he is promoting me because he needed me to teach others what I do. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, and I will always be grateful to him for this. He was an honest, no excuse, and always fair person who put people first ... I’m heartbroken over the news of his passing, but will always remember him fondly."
Toni Moss, CEO of AmeriCatalyst – a non-profit think tank that generates solutions for the long-term sustainability of the housing ecosystem – shared a memory. "Dave Stevens was such a magnificent human being in a world rife with paradoxes and impossible choices. He was a true leader and champion for women and minorities like me," Moss shared in a statement to staff writer Ryan Kingsley. "When my partner passed away three years ago, I was in such shock that I was unable to speak for several months. I was seriously wronged in a very difficult situation, and Dave came to my rescue - he was literally my voice when I could not speak for myself. He has always encouraged me to produce events with a purpose, to make a meaningful difference, and has supported my every endeavor. This world - not to mention this industry - has suffered a tremendous loss, and so many of us will miss him for the rest of our lives."
Marcia Davies, chief operating officer of the MBA, wrote in a statement about Stevens, "Dave was a great mentor, boss, and friend to many of us. He was quick with a joke, sometimes at his own expense, and truly cared about those who worked with and for him. We owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for his stewardship of the association in the years immediately following the financial crisis, when he rebuilt MBA from a nearly bankrupt organization into one that now has more than two years of operational reserves. Under Dave’s leadership, MBA restored its credibility as a loud and effective advocate for all its members – residential, commercial, and multifamily. MBA would not be the powerhouse organization it is today were it not for Dave Stevens."
Ed Delgado, managing director of Mortgage Policy Advisors, wrote to NMP, "On behalf of the members of the National Mortgage Servicing Association and the Mortgage Servicing Executive Alliance, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family of Dave H. Stevens and the Mortgage Bankers Association. Dave 'answered the call.' No matter what the topic, regardless of where he was at the time, he was always available and was adept at bringing people together for a common solution to the benefit of many. His impact on affordable housing and his longstanding commitment to protecting the dream of homeownership will have an impact on generations to come."
And lastly, Brian Montgomery, a former FHA Commissioner from 2005-2009 and 2018-2020, as well as a former HUD deputy secretary between 2018 to 2021, shared, "I first met David Stevens in 2008 while serving as FHA Commissioner under President George W. Bush. A year later, David and I worked together while I was a Bush holdover in the Obama administration, and David was awaiting Senate confirmation—a process that took more than six months. Despite our partisan differences, David and I found common ground and worked on policy issues that we believed would help lower and moderate-income families realize the American dream—many of the first-time buyers. A good bit of that dialogue was behind the scenes and acting as a sounding board on politically sensitive topics."
