What is the universe made of?

Science magazine listed that as one of the 125 big questions readers thought could be answered this century.

Now what we do as Mortgage Bankers, while complex,
may not seem as challenging as discovering the basic building blocks of the universe.

Yet on that same list in Science magazine is the question
"What impact do large government deficits have on a country's interest rates and economic growth?"

In essence,
our economy is as complex a structure, and in many ways as unknown and volatile,
as any on earth.
Our industry plays a major role within that living, breathing, ever-changing global economy.

What a challenge we face!
-- our specific industry is also very much driven by the two unknowns in that Science magazine question:
interest rates and economic growth rate.

That's at the macro level.

Closer to home there's increased competition, increased risk, shrinking volumes and thinning profit margins.

It is very humbling.

At the same time it makes me even prouder of how
MBA is working for you;
more confident in the strategic approach your board adopted two years ago.

It makes me appreciate MBA's research and forecasting that much more,
and makes me stop to think about what is unknown.

Precisely because so much is unknown, we must take the right proactive steps with what we DO know.

Like the fact that over the next two decades, there'll be 30 million new Americans.

13 to 15 million new households will require 6 to 7 trillion dollars in capital from the international markets, while outstanding mortgage debt will grow from around 8 trillion to about 22 trillion dollars.

Meeting that housing demand, and the equivalent demand for mortgage debt, is a huge challenge!

The decisions we make today will have a tremendous impact on whether we in the housing industry can meet that demand.

Whether we can have affordable housing for all.

How much further we can take today's nearly 70% homeownership rate.
And whether we can eliminate the gap between that overall rate and the rate among minority homeowners which now stands at 54%.

What else do we know?
We know that as emerging markets grow, many first-time homebuyers will be the first in their family to ever own a home.

That means the need for vigilance against predatory lending is even greater.

The need for a uniform national standard, rather than the patchwork quilt of state, and now even local laws, is more
complelling than ever.
Many of these new laws have the unintended effect of locking out the very people they were designed to protect, reducing their choice.

And Consumer choice is a good thing.

And I don't have to tell you what effect several sets of regulations have on efficiency and costs within your own organizations.
That's why what we are doing today is so critical -- such as advocating for a uniform national standard.
It's MBA working for you.
With so many new mortgage products, tools to promote financial literacy, consumer education and a simpler mortgage process need to be available to everyone.

Our consumer outreach program,
See a Lender First, recommends consumers visit a lending professional before shopping for a home.

That message went across the country in newspaper and radio ads,
making consumers aware of MBA's HomeLoanLearning Center,
where they could go to learn more about the homebuying process and to make sound credit decisions.
This is MBA working for you.
Consumers aren't the only ones who need protection.

Fighting fraud against lenders is a key MBA priority in 2006.
We are seeking better communications, stronger enforcement and innovative preventive tools.

This is MBA working for you.
The recent proposal by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform to reduce the mortgage interest deduction, could turn a healthy housing market upside down.
And while we support the president's overall tax-reform principles, this proposal just doesn't make sense.
MBA is also working for RESPA reform to simplify the mortgage process.
And MISMO continues to help reduce your costs through standardization, ushering in the age of eMortgages.

Those are things we know today.
But knowing what you don't know is knowledge of its own.
It allows you to plan for different contingencies.

We don't know if tax credits will be there,
if FHA will be empowered or the impact of a growing private label market.

But we do know those issues will be competing for attention with headline-grabbers such as Medicare, Social Security and a growing Federal deficit.

And who knows when the next or terrorist act will dominate the congressional agenda?

We need to keep our issues at the forefront.
After all, they are America's issues.
Homes.
Communities.
Providing our children and grandchildren a brighter future.

That's why we must have a strong and clear voice in the creation of legislation and policy.

And for that we need your involvement in the Association.

Our goal this year is to increase membership to above it's current level of 3,000.

Your participation in MORPAC is also critical...

I'm pleased to announce we are more than half way to our goal of 1.2 Million dollars for this cycle.

Your support of MORPAC is proof that you understand the importance of advocacy.

And while we can't control fiscal policy,
we can, and we must, have a voice in shaping policy
at the grassroots level and with our advocates in Washington, D.C.
MBA is your voice in Washington, and we have done a particularly good job of presenting our positions as something beyond a special interest.
So when we speak out for a strong GSE regulator, for RESPA reform that really protects consumers without limiting their choice,
we are heard as a vital and ethical player, whose interests mirror the interests of our customers.

We don't know what legislation ultimately will be enacted.

We don't know how fiscal policy will impact the economy.
But we do know that what we do today will affect tomorrow.

Take the GSE regulator.

The type of regulatory structure put in place will have a profound impact on how we do business for years to come.
Our goal is a strong, independent, well-funded regulator with bank-like powers.

Now - being forward thinking is much more than attempting to predict the future.

It is doing the things today that can shape that future,
all while making your business better.

I've seen it.

I've watched this association become much more proactive.

And now,
as your Chairman,
I'm taking another proactive step.

I'm pleased to announce the formation of a new industry advisory group
called "THE COUNCIL TO SHAPE CHANGE".

Made up of some of the most accomplished leaders in our industry,
they will imagine what the industry will be like in five, ten, even fifteen years from now, what role MBA will play in that future, and,
even more exciting, what MBA will do, today, to shape that future --
And will serve as a blueprint for our next strategic plan.

Now, we don't know what will be discovered first,
the basic building blocks of our universe,
or how to manage an economy so that everyone can prosper.

But we know that the building blocks of an association that truly serves its members are in place.
RIGHT HERE.

MBA is working for you.

Working to keep our vision solidly on the future....

Working so that change will not surprise us....

Rather...
we will shape that change together.