Dear MBA Member:

 

As you can surely tell from the headlines, the mortgage finance industry remains in the spotlight.  Policy makers and decision makers across the country have put our industry, and residential servicers and originators in particular, in the crosshairs, asking what we are doing to help borrowers who have fallen behind or are at risk of falling behind on their mortgage.

 

MBA has been very active on this front.  We wanted to share with you just a few of our recent activities:

 

1.  Lobbying.  MBA has given Congressional testimony 18 times so far this year and have been advocating tirelessly for solutions that help the greatest number of borrowers without bailing out those who knowingly took a risk they fully understood.

2. Partnerships.   
1. MBA has partnered with NeighborWorks America and the Homeownership Preservation Foundation on their 888-995-HOPE hotline (995hope.org) to connect borrowers with qualified third party credit and debt counselors.
2. MBA has also leveraged its existing relationships and created new partnerships with local and national consumer and minority outreach and advocacy organizations to reach borrowers most in need of assistance.
3. MBA has conducted foreclosure prevention and education seminars in highly affected areas to help community leaders understand the options available to distressed borrowers.

3.    HOPE NOW.  MBA has also been a leader in the HOPE NOW alliance (www.HopeNow.com), which was introduced in October by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson and is a cooperative effort among counselors, investors, and mortgage servicers to maximize efforts to help homeowners in distress and standardize the way in which the industry is reporting on foreclosure prevention.  We encourage every mortgage servicer in America to join this effort. 

 

4.    Data Collection.  MBA continues to be a leader in collecting data.  We currently have a survey out to capture the number of repayment plans and loan modifications being put in place.  The survey will also identify the percentage of borrowers who cannot be contacted and the number of defaulted loans made to investors.

 

5.    Clarification of Loan Modifications.  MBA worked with Congress, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to attain clarity on accounting issues and allow outreach by servicers to make loan modifications for borrowers prior to the borrower actually defaulting on their mortgage.   

 

6.    Model Pooling and Servicing Agreements.  MBA has drafted model pooling and servicing agreement amendment language to further facilitate the modification of loans to help prevent foreclosures.  The Association is working with servicers and investors to do more in this area. 

 

7. Dodd Summit/Principles.  MBA was the only lender trade association to participate in and sign on to the summit's Statement of Principles, guiding servicers when working with families facing foreclosure on their homes.

8.    HomeLoanLearningCenter.com. MBA launched its new and improved consumer Web site, the Home Loan Learning Center (HLLC), in both English and Spanish, including a foreclosure prevention resource center which, among other things, provides crucial information to at-risk borrowers, including direct contact numbers for the loss mitigation departments for many servicers. 

 

9.    Public Service Announcements.  MBA created a series of radio and television PSAs to:

a.    Increase visibility for the HLLC Web site.

b.    Highlight the importance of borrowers contacting their lenders as early as possible to avoid foreclosure.

c.    Feature local officials directing consumers to information about how to avoid foreclosure.

 

10.  State & Local.  MBA has also had representatives across the country working with federal, state and local officials, in addition to lenders and servicers, in homeownership preservation workshops and summits to help at-risk borrowers. 

 

While many of these efforts continue, we also anticipate more activities, including:

 

·         Servicer Fly-In.  Major servicing members will gather in early December to discuss additional ways MBA can help our members and their borrowers.

 

·         Standardization of Homeownership Preservation Seminars. This will help to reach more community leaders and provide information on how they can help borrowers avoid foreclosure.

 

·         Conference of Mayors.  MBA will participate in the January meeting of the Conference of Mayors, including sending a camera crew to record and produce more PSAs aimed at local markets.    

 

The above list is just a sampling of what MBA is doing on the homeownership preservation front.  This campaign will continue to grow and evolve, with your help.  If you have more ideas or questions, please don't hesitate to let us know.  You can send your thoughts to us at lossmitigation@mortgagebankers.org.  

 

 

Sincerely,