WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 16, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today announced that John A. Courson, the association’s President and CEO, will be leaving the association, effective June 1, 2011. Courson will be replaced by David H. Stevens, Assistant Secretary for Housing and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in May. Stevens had announced earlier that he would be resigning from his position at HUD. He will leave HUD on March 31, 2011.
Courson came to MBA as Chief Operating Officer in August, 2008 and became the association’s President and CEO in January, 2009. Prior to MBA, John spent more than 40 years in the mortgage banking industry during which time he was an active MBA member and served as the association’s Chairman in 2003.
“John Courson has led MBA through the most turbulent times that this industry, and the association, has ever seen,” said MBA’s Chairman Michael D. Berman, CMB. “John inherited an association facing serious financial challenges precipitated by the meltdown in the mortgage market and MBA’s decision to purchase its own headquarters building in the year leading up to the Great Recession. He was compelled from the outset to make difficult financial decisions, both to bring MBA’s budget under control and to extricate MBA from the building, but he leaves MBA with a budget in the black and having executed the sale of the building while maintaining MBA’s commitment to it members.
“John has done a superb job, and the entire residential, multifamily and commercial real estate community owes John an enormous debt of gratitude, and we are pleased that John intends to remain active in the real estate finance industry and thank him for his willingness to stay at MBA to help facilitate a smooth transition.”
David Stevens comes to MBA after nearly two years leading FHA through the same tumultuous times. During his tenure, Commissioner Stevens implemented a myriad of changes to improve FHA’s risk management to ensure the programs future viability and to help FHA weather the storm of increased losses. At FHA, Stevens has direct responsibility for oversight and administration of the FHA insurance portfolio, which includes multifamily housing, insured health care facilities and well over 20 percent of mortgages in the domestic single family market.
“David Stevens is uniquely qualified to lead the association in its next chapter,” said Berman. “Most recently he has had a tremendous impact at FHA, as that program faced its own unprecedented challenges. He also brings a wealth of industry experience in mortgage lending that will help him further build MBA’s position as the industry’s leading voice in advocacy, communications, education and research.”
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. He started his professional career with a 16-year tenure at the World Savings Bank, where he began as a loan officer. He later served briefly as Executive Vice President at Wells Fargo, and spent seven years as Senior Vice President at Freddie Mac, where he created and ran the small lender channel.
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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation’s residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,200 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA’s Web site: www.mortgagebankers.org.
Contact:
John Mechem (202) 557-2924
