WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 7, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — MBA sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) General Counsel Alfred Pollard in response to the agency’s request for input concerning proposals in California and elsewhere to utilize eminent domain powers to refinance performing, underwater mortgages. In the letter, MBA’s President and CEO David H. Stevens concurs with FHFA’s own comment that, “utilizing eminent domain in this way could undermine and have a chilling effect on the extension of credit” to prospective homeowners and investors.
MBA also joined a coalition of 25 other trade associations in a similar letter.
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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.
