"Companies' payroll additions are still a big question mark this month," said Jeff Anderson, senior vice president of Hudson Global Resources North America. "Even as [our] data holds steady and we see increased hiring demand across diverse sectors, last month's weaker than expected jobs report means the picture is still murky. What is clear, however, is that workers are feeling the impact of higher gas prices directly in their pocketbooks, making personal finances a major factor in confidence this month."

The Index for accounting and finance workers dropped 3.5 points to 103.7, particularly as a result of lowered optimism about hiring. The decrease was due to lowered optimism around personal finances and more concerns around layoffs, which correlates with national trends within the manufacturing sector. However, the healthcare and IT sectors experienced increases, 109.5 and 114.2 respectively.

When comparing reports of anticipated hiring by salary level and company size those individuals earning less than $40,000 per year were less optimistic about their companies' hiring plans than the in previous months. Individuals working at companies with more than 250 employees were also less optimistic about hiring trends. Although, workers making more than $75,000 per year or at companies with 50-250 employees were more upbeat in April, the Index reported.

The percent of workers expecting their firms to hire in the coming months rose one point in April to 32 percent, the highest it has been in six months. Private sector managers were especially bullish about hiring, with 44 percent expecting their firms' workforce to grow, a 10 percent increase since last month, Hudson said. A rise in job satisfaction also aided the Index's slight upward movement, as the percent of workers satisfied with their jobs climbed one point to 74 percent.

The Hudson Employment Index (Hudson-Index.com) measures the U.S. workforce's confidence in the employment market based on monthly telephone surveys with nearly 9,000 U.S. workers. Survey results are segmented by 11 metropolitan cities and four industries. The metro markets are: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa and Washington, D.C. Industry sectors surveyed are accounting and finance, healthcare, information technology and manufacturing.
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GMAC Mortgage Corp., Horsham, Pa., hired Sean Curry as director of prime assets and Mark Lahiff a director of credit sensitive assets.

Curry, based out of Pasadena, Calif., will serve clients engaged in originating and/or servicing prime loans, including Alt-A and HELOCs. She brings 20 years of experience as a mortgage banking production manager to her new post, most recently as senior vice president at Bank of America Mortgage in Charlotte, N.C., where she helped integrate Fleet Bank’s retail channel into Bank of America. She also worked at Legacy NationsBanc Mortgage and at Fleet Mortgage Group and NCNB National Bank of Florida.

Lahiff will work out of the Horsham, Pa., office, focusing on the development of new sub-prime clients and sourcing new opportunities in REO management and loss recovery. He most recently served as president and COO of Keystone Asset Management Inc., a management outsourcing company. Prior to his work at Keystone Asset Management, he served as vice president of national sales at T.D. Financial Services Corp. and as assistant vice president of collection recovery and foreclosure for GMAC Mortgage.

The Diversity Council of Option One Mortgage Corp., Irvine, Calif., awarded scholarships to 12 associates to help them continue their career growth in the mortgage industry and foster diversity at the company.

The recipients, who come from both Option One Mortgage and H&R Block Mortgage Corp., will attend a week-long, expenses-paid course of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s School of Mortgage Banking in the city of their choice. The scholarship recipients also will participate in a strategic planning session for the company’s diversity program.

The scholarship recipients are:

• Wendy Banjo, senior loan officer with HRBMC, Atlanta; 
• Colleen Bergman, appraisal assistant with Option One, Atlanta;
• Larry Buford, team lead mail services with corporate administrative services, Irvine;
• Janai Fullard, underwriter with Option One, Mt. Laurel, N.J.;
• Pauline Graf, credit reporting with servicing systems administration, Irvine;
• James Hasapis, associate development trainer in corporate training, Irvine;
• Melanie Hoagland, compliance analyst in corporate compliance, Irvine;
• Marlene Fernández Kennedy, project coordinator with servicing real estate, Irvine;
• Christopher Moller, branch assistant with Option One mid-Atlantic, Sterling, Va.;
• Gloria Phillips, BAT specialist in loan servicing, Jacksonville, Fla.;
• Maria Carla Prieto, account manager with Option One, Hackensack N.J.;
• Tinae Richardson, LAS/foreclosure in servicing, Irvine.

Arbor Realty Trust Inc., Uniondale, N.Y., promoted Gianni Ottaviano to vice president of structured finance. He previously held the title of director of structured finance. Ottaviano will oversee bridge, mezzanine and preferred equity loans and will have elevated responsibilities as it relates to various loan and property type underwriting.

Ottaviano began his career with Arbor in 1999 and will be based at Arbor’s Uniondale headquarters.

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va., named Richard “Rick” Gonzalez as senior vice president and chief information officer. He will direct technology activities and personnel for the company’s information and communication systems.

Before joining LandAmerica, Gonzalez worked as an independent senior IT consultant with Credit Suisse First Boston and Extante Financial Services. He also worked as a senior vice president of operations and technology at NASDAQ and at Lincoln Savings Bank.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, New York, appointed Susan Barnes as practice leader and head of its Structured Finance Residential Mortgage group in North America, with responsibility for managing all Standard & Poor’s U.S. RMBS activities, products and analysts.

Barnes previously served as the senior analytical manager of the Residential Mortgage group. Prior to joining Standard & Poor’s in 1993, she worked at Citicorp Securities Markets Inc. Her background includes tenures with primary mortgage companies as well as secondary market participants.

Portellus Inc., Irvine, Calif., announced that Brenda Arnold joined the company as senior process and project manager. She will oversee company processes and manage the installations of its mortgage-related products for lenders nationwide.

Arnold comes to Portellus from Commerce Velocity Inc., where she managed teams of developers, business analysts and quality assurance specialists on various implementations. She has more than 15 years of experience specializing in business operations, organizational leadership, project management and research and development.
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“So far, the signs are showing [volume] will continue. Over the last few years, that set of volume has just increased every quarter. Our hunch is that we are going to see more of that [record volume] this first quarter going forward,” Woodwell said here at MBA's 2005 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Asset Administration & Technology Conference.

MBA forecasts one-year Treasuries at 4 percent and 10-year Treasuries at 5 percent by the end of the year. Real gross domestic product growth has exceeded productivity, which is fueling job growth, Woodwell said. He said inflation remains well below past indicators.

“It is not inflation, it is inflation ‘expectations,’” Woodwell said. “What is really driving much of this is not what we are seeing in these measures but what people are really thinking about down the road…which is why the job numbers don’t matter quite as much as the difference between the job numbers and what people think the job numbers are going to be.”

Woodwell said most vacancy rates in soft markets have peaked and are beginning to move downward. “We’re at the top of the curve in three of four real estate groups and on our way down,” he said.

With few investment alternatives, most investors find commercial real estate particularly attractive because of the low capitalization rates. “Investors all over are trying to figure out where they can get good, decent returns that meet their underwriting criteria and given the competitive nature of the market, it’s tough,” Woodwell said.

Also, an abundance of information makes commercial real estate on the real estate investment trust (REIT) side and CMBS sector a more accepted investment for a more generic investor, Woodwell said. “The more information there is and the more we know about it, the tighter the spreads will be and the more accepted it becomes.”

Low delinquency rates promote strong commercial property markets, despite more interest-only and adjustable rate mortgage loans. Although the homeownership rate supplanted the development rate for multifamily in the past couple of years, demographics and condo conversions appear to be picking up as well.

“On the apartment side, condo conversions are the driver in a whole bunch of markets. Half of the apartment sales are driven by this very different economic model,” Woodwell said. “In other places, there are very different perceptions about what is going to happen in the local economy.”

Woodwell said commercial/multifamily real estate loans have the lowest delinquency rates within commercial bank portfolios. “Across other investor groups, those FDIC delinquency rates on the commercial side were 1.18 percent, multifamily are .5 percent. The CMBS 60-plus day delinquency rate is .88 percent, the life companies at 60-plus are .08 percent, Fannie Mae at .1 percent, and Freddie Mac at .06 percent—all low delinquency rates,” Woodwell said.
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A $14.4 million transaction to finance Cherrycrest Villas Apartments in Dallas for the City of Dallas Housing Finance Corporation. The complex plans to consist of 232 units. The project was financed using $14.4 million of Aa2 / VMIG-1 rated tax-exempt bonds. Southwest Housing Development Company, Inc. was the co-developer, guarantor, manager and general contractor. A subsidiary of Southwest Housing is also the Class B Limited Partner. The bonds were publicly sold as low floaters based on a letter of credit provider by Wachovia Securities, Charlotte, N.C., as the construction lender.

Rosemont at Garth Apartments is a new construction project, which will be comprised of 250 units. The project was financed using $14.28 million of Aa2/VMIG-1-rated tax-exempt bonds. The same players teamed up again to close $14.28 million in financing for Garth Apartments in Baytown, Texas for the Southwest Housing Development Company, Inc Wachovia Securities again served as the construction lender and provided a letter of credit for the bonds to sell as low floaters.

Primrose at Crist Apartments in Garland, Texas closed at $13.8 million in financing for the Garland Housing Finance Corp. The property is a new construction project comprised of 204 units. The project was financed using $13.8 million of Aa2 / VMIG-1-rated tax-exempt bonds. The borrower was a partnership with a General Partner that is a subsidiary of the Garland Housing Finance Corp. and a Limited Partner (LP), which is a subsidiary of Wachovia’s tax credit group. Southwest Housing Development Company, Inc. served as the loan and tax credit guarantor, co-developer, property manager and general contractor.

In the state of Washington, Newman & Associates, Newman Capital and Paramount Financial Group (Paramount), Granville, Ohio, closed on an $8.39 million financing of Vintage at Sequim Apartments in Sequim, Wash., for the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.

Newman Capital served as lender and bond purchaser and Paramount Financial Group, provided tax credit equity. Merchant Capital, Montgomery, Ala., acted as the private placement agent and State Bank as construction lender. The Vintage at Sequim Apartments is an acquisition/sub rehab project comprised of 118 units. The project was financed using $8.3 million of unenhanced, unrated tax-exempt bonds. The borrowers were Canddle Development and Hearthstone Housing Foundation.
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Through this distinctive program, MBA addresses the future of the industry and offers sophisticated advice on leadership skills. Thought-provoking conference sessions provide critical information, as well as significant value, to take back with you for your business.

This year’s conference features the following keynote addresses:

• Barry Nalebuff, professor of Economics and Management at the  Yale School of Management, presents "Why Not? How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big and Small." He is an acclaimed educator and author on teaching people how to solve problems, think strategically and ask questions. Nalebuff is a Forbes columnist and Marketplace commentator, as well as the co-founder and chairman of Honest Tea, one of Inc. Magazine's fastest growing companies in America. He has been a consultant to a host of successful companies, including: American Express, BP, Bell Atlantic, Citibank, Corning, GE, McKinsey and Warner-Lambert.

• Baseball legend Jim Bouton believes that to achieve goals, you need to think like an athlete and focus on the process. This means getting into the fun of the enterprise, the challenge of long odds, the satisfaction in details, the thrill of extraordinary effort and the joy of work. Bouton shares his experiences as a winning New York Yankee and all-star in the 1960s, a comeback kid in the major leagues after an eight-year retirement, best-selling author and sportscaster.

• Gary Orren, professor of Public Policy and Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, presents the “Principles of Persuasion for Executives.” He believes that the ability to communicate persuasively lies at the heart of management and the core of leadership, whether the goal is to convince one person face-to-face, or to sway the public at large. This interactive session highlights proven principles of effective persuasion drawn from social psychology and other behavioral sciences. As a leading public opinion and political analyst, Orren has served as an advisor in local, state and federal national election campaigns and has taught at Harvard for 34 years.

• Doug Duncan provides his always perceptive and entertaining insight into the economy, the mortgage market and lender performance. As MBA's senior vice president of research and business development, and chief economist, he oversees the Research, Education, Industry Technology and Business Development departments.

Complementing the educational focus of the meeting are networking opportunities and a spouse/guest program. This year's conference is incorporating a two-day golf tournament that will include handicaps and flight winners. The first Presidents Conference Cups will be presented. Award-winning comedian Eddie Brill (Comedy Central and David Letterman) performs on June 7.

This event is exclusively for Chairmen, Presidents, Owners, Principals, CEOs and COOs of regular MBA member firms, members of MBA's Board of Directors and Board of Governors and Premier Associate members.

Program registrants are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Breakers has received the AAA Five Diamond Award. Amenities include two 18-hole championship golf courses, a spa, tennis center and more. Contact The Breakers by phone or fax and state that you will be attending MBA's Presidents Conference. Be sure to make your reservations before May 13. The cut-off date does not ensure availability of rooms. If rooms are available until May 13, you will receive the discounted hotel rate provided below. After May 13, reservations will be made on a space-availability basis only, and you will be charged the regular hotel rate.

For more information, go to the Conference Web site, http://events.mortgagebankers.org/presidents2005/default.html
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As new laws are enacted and current laws revised, the compliance team must ensure that all employees are trained and familiar with the laws and how they relate to their daily job activities.

In the past, CampusMBA, the education arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has provided students with regulatory compliance training as a part of skill-based courses focused on origination, underwriting, processing and closing. Recognizing the need for training opportunities specifically related to regulatory compliance topics, CampusMBA has created the Regulatory Compliance Training Series.

This suite of self-study Web-based courses addresses current regulatory compliance topics that you, our membership, have requested. Each course includes practice questions, definitions and links to important information presented throughout the course to supplement the course materials and further facilitate your learning experience.

Training your company on regulatory compliance issues reduces your company’s risk of non-compliance with federal regulations. Through CampusMBA’s sophisticated reporting processes, you can retain a log of student course completions to verify that all of your employees are trained on correct and appropriate compliance procedures.

"This is a dynamic suite of courses; as new legislation and amendments are enacted, we will examine the content gaps and build new courses to meet our membership’s training needs,” said Dan Thoms, vice president of MBA education and business development.

Many companies, however, not only want to train their staff on federal regulatory compliance issues, but to their own stricter approach to compliance. Individual companies often have policies and procedures that require staff to uphold a higher and stronger level of compliance. For example, a large company may train staff on the new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act laws, but also on its own checklists, policies, procedures, controls and regulatory compliance officer guidance. To meet this demand, CampusMBA offers a fee-based corporate customization option.

With the corporate customization option, CampusMBA will add a third lesson to the course on your company’s individual law-related compliance policies and procedures. This customization can also be made by job title, such as HMDA for Originators and HMDA for Underwriters. The corporate customization option is available, for an incremental consulting fee, to corporate customers participating in the e-Ticket, Branded Corporate University and/or Content Licensing programs.

Current topics covered by the Regulatory Compliance Training series include the Community Reinvestment Act, HMDA, ethics, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, privacy and the USA PATRIOT Act. In addition to the courses currently available for registration, additional courses are in development and will be available in early summer.

To individually enroll or learn more about any of these courses, call (800) 348-8653 or visit Corporate Training at http://www.campusmba.org/index.cfm?STRING=rccontact.cfm. If your organization has more than 100 employees and is interested in corporate training solutions, contact Ken McInerney at (202) 997-5792 or at kmcinerney@mortgagebankers.org. For more information about CampusMBA, go to www.campusmba.org.
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House Financial Services

It is unclear when Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., will hold a markup of that chamber's oversight reform bill, S. 190. But if it slips past the Memorial Day recess, the markup would likely take place early in June.

Also in the Senate, there is significant concern regarding the so-called "Constitutional option" to end the filibuster of judicial nominees. The option would seek a ruling that the use of the filibuster on judicial nominees is unconstitutional. Should the Republicans invoke the option, Democrats have threatened to retaliate by shutting down all legislative business but the federal budget process. This could adversely affect the chances of floor consideration of a Senate GSE reform bill this summer or fall.

As always, MBA will keep members apprised of any developments affecting GSE oversight reform.

For more information, please contact Josh Denney at (202) 557-2816 (jdenney@mortgagebankers.org).
 
Predatory Lending and HMDA Update
Although no official notice has been given, MBA anticipates and has been preparing for a House Financial Services Committee hearing on predatory lending during the week of May 22. As reported in last week's Advocacy Update, Financial Services Committee Chairman Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, last month agreed to cosponsor H.R. 1295, the Ney-Kanjorski predatory lending bill, adding considerable weight to the bill and increasing the likelihood that the full Financial Services Committee will take action on it this year. 

However, the Ney-Kanjorski bill is not the only facet of the predatory lending debate that has come into play in recent weeks. As a result of newly released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D) has launched an inquiry into several large New York banks, examining whether the lenders made high-cost loans to minority and other vulnerable consumers who would otherwise qualify for less-expensive credit.

MBA has been actively engaged in efforts to educate policymakers about the new HMDA data requirements, meeting with members of Congress and the Bush Administration to inform them that allegations of discrimination cannot be determined solely based on HMDA data because the data do not include risk-based pricing information such as credit scores or loan-to-value ratios.

While the confluence of a Congressional hearing, Oxley's co-sponsorship, and Spitzer's investigation will create welcome momentum for passage of the Ney-Kanjorski bill, we have to be realistic in understanding that some of the momentum will be due to a potentially growing perception that the industry needs to be "cleaned up." This environment will make it difficult to pass a uniform national standard acceptable to the industry.

MBA will continue to engage in education efforts regarding the new HMDA data. The lobby team will also work diligently to ensure that the Ney-Kanjorski bill remains one that industry can support, and will monitor any changes as it progresses through the legislative process. Should significant changes be made, MBA will alert members regarding their implications.

For more information, please contact Erick Gustafson at (202) 557-2913 (egustafson@mortgagebankers.org).

Additional Cosponsors Secured for MBA-Backed Legislation
MBA secured a number of additional cosponsors to two MBA-backed bills this week. This is no doubt the result of MBA's Lobby Day on April 20, when MBA members visited members of Congress and asked them to cosponsor the bills.

On H.R. 176, which would raise FHA loan limits in high cost areas, Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Mike Capuano, D-Mass., signed on as co-sponsors. 

Four additional members signed onto H.R. 1010, which would modernize Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits, or REMICs.  They are Reps. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Earl Blumenauer, D-
Ore., Ed Case, D-Hawaii, and Harold Ford, D-Tenn.

For more information, please contact Erick Gustafson at (202) 557-2913 (egustafson@mortgagebankers.org).

FHA's Reverse Mortgage Ceiling Close to Resolution
Due to a change in interpretation by HUD's legal counsel, MBA learned last week that FHA's Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program was fast approaching the 150,000-loan cap established by Congress in the National Housing Act in 1998. Over the past year, MBA was repeatedly told that the cap applies to outstanding HECMs, meaning the current portfolio of HECM loans FHA insures, and thus bears risk. It appears that HUD's General Counsel has recently interpreted the statute as loans written since the program's inception in 1989.

MBA identified a supplemental appropriations bill in conference over the past week, and reached out to Congressional staff to include an amendment raising the HECM program cap from 150,000 to 250,000 loans. This conference report was passed by the House on May 5 and is expected to pass the Senate next week. Once signed by the President, the new cap will take effect, preserving the program. MBA expects this to be sometime next week.

MBA expects that the 250,000-loan cap should be sufficient to extend the program until spring 2006.

For more information, please contact Tim Doyle at (202) 557-2860 (tdoyle@mortgagebankers.org).

Interagency Advisory on Accounting for Loan Commitments Released
Last week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the National Credit Union Administration issued a joint accounting advisory providing supplemental guidance on the appropriate accounting and reporting for commitments to: originate mortgage loans that will be held for resale and sell mortgage loans under mandatory delivery and best efforts contracts.

The advisory discusses the characteristics that should be considered in determining whether mandatory delivery and best efforts contracts are derivatives and the accounting and regulatory reporting treatment for both commitments to originate mortgage loans that will be held for resale and those loan sales agreements that meet the definition of a derivative. The advisory also addresses the guidance that should be considered in determining the fair value of derivatives. A simplified example is included to provide general guidance on one approach that may be used to value commitments to originate mortgage loans that will be held for resale

Earlier this year, MBA responded to FASB inquiries regarding industry practice in this area by noting that best efforts commitments are generally accounted for as derivatives because they are substantively like borrower commitments to exercise loan originations, which must be accounted for as derivatives by lenders.  While the advisory largely reflects MBA's view with respect to the proper accounting for best efforts commitments, it has also raised several questions and concerns. A conference call among members to discuss the advisory is scheduled for today (Monday), May 9.
 
For more information, please contact Alison Utermohlen at (202) 557-2864 (autermohlen@mortgagebankers.org).

MBA Hosts Secondary Markets Conference; Policymakers Discuss GSE Oversight Reform
Earlier this week, more than 2,000 MBA members attended MBA's annual Secondary Markets Conference and Expo in San Francisco. The Opening General Session featured speeches from Gavin Newsom (D), the Mayor of San Francisco, who spoke about homelessness and San Francisco's current affordable housing issues, and MBA Chairman-Elect Regina Lowrie, who articulated MBA's position on GSE oversight reform.

On May 2, Peter Brereton, associate director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight; Joe Cwiklinski, legislative assistant to Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Adam Healy, legislative assistant to Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., participated in a panel discussion on the current state of GSE oversight reform.  During the discussion, Brereton told participants that the new regulatory structure should strengthen the supervision of the GSEs and ensure their safety and soundness. He also noted that the new regulator must be independent, permanently funded outside of the appropriations process and have power equal to other safety and soundness regulators with full discretion in setting capital standards.

The two Senate staffers provided a perspective on the two GSE oversight reform bills currently pending in Congress, S. 190 and H.R. 1461. Cwiklinski said that the Senate bill tries to address the principles supported by OFHEO. He also said he was optimistic about passage of a GSE reform bill, although he did indicate that there are a number of issues that need to be ironed out.  Healy said that one of the issues that needs to be resolved is the size of the GSEs' portfolios.

For more information, please contact Erick Gustafson at (202) 557-2913 (egustafson@mortgagebankers.org).

House Financial Services Committee Holds Hearing to Assess Data Security
On May 4, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on "Assessing Data Security: Preventing Breaches and Protecting Sensitive Information." The purpose of the hearing was to discuss how criminals access and exploit information systems in order to commit identity theft, and what efforts should be put forth to protect the personal sensitive information of consumers. Witnesses representatives from Bank of America, the Harvard University Employees Credit Union, ChoicePoint, LexisNexis and Safe Archives-Safe Shredding LLC.

Chairman Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, noted the need to ensure that consumers receive prompt and effective notice when their sensitive information has been compromised. However, he also expressed concern about providing notification in every instance, especially when there is no evidence indicating that the information has been misused, as consumers may begin to ignore the notices as unsolicited junk mail. He also indicated that the Financial Services Committee will consider whether a national breach notification standard would be necessary.

For more information, please contact Rachel Voss at (202) 557-2865 (rvoss@mortgagebankers.org).
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Not so with the House Financial Services Committee. The Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises examines mutual fund regulations on Tuesday, May 10; then on May 11, the Subcommittees on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology turns their attention to "Basel II: Capital Changes in the U.S. Banking System and the Results of the Impact Study." That hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. EDT in room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Also on May 11, the full committee holds a hearing on H.R. 1999, the "State and Local Housing Flexibility Act of 2005." The bill is identical to S.771, introduced in April by Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and would convert HUD’s existing Section 8 housing choice voucher program into a “flexible” voucher program. The hearing takes place at 2:00 p.m. EDT in 2128 Rayburn.

On Thursday, May 12, the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit holds a hearing on "Helping Consumers Obtain the Credit They Deserve." That hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. EDT in 2128 Rayburn.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Legal Issues & Regulatory Compliance Conference runs May 15-18 in Phoenix.

Senate hearings can be heard live over the Internet at www.capitolhearings.org. House Financial Services Committee hearings can be viewed live over the Internet at www.financialservices.house.gov.

Upcoming Reports/Events:

May 10: Campus MBA: Creating New Customers, Chicago
May 10-11: CampusMBA Default Best Practices Workshop, Chicago
May 11: MBA Weekly Application Survey
May 11: Trade Balance, Commerce Department
May 11: Treasury Monthly Statement
May 11-12: CampusMBA Real Estate Appraisal for Mortgage Lenders, Dallas
May 12: CampusMBA: Creating New Customers, Dallas
May 13: Business Inventories, Commerce Department
May 15-18: MBA Legal Issues & Regulatory Compliance Conference, Phoenix
May 15-20: CampusMBA School of Mortgage Banking Course I, Philadelphia
May 16: CampusMBA: Creating New Customers, Phoenix
May 16: NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index
May 17-18: CampusMBA: The Next Step in Combating Mortgage Fraud, Atlanta
May 17: CampusMBA: Creating New Customers, Philadelphia
May 17: CampusMBA: Creating New Customers, Atlanta
May 17: New Residential Construction, Commerce Department
May 17: Producer Price Index, Labor Department
May 18: MBA Weekly Application Survey
May 18: Consumer Price Index, Labor Department
May 19: CampusMBA: Creating New Customers, Albuquerque, N. Mex.
May 23-27: MISMO Trimester Meeting,
May 24: Existing Home Sales, National Association of Realtors
May 24: CampusMBA: Creating New Customers, Johnston, Iowa
May 25: MBA Weekly Application Survey
May 25: New Residential Sales, Commerce Department
May 27: Gross Domestic Product, Labor Department
May 30: Memorial Day Holiday
May 31: Consumer Confidence, The Conference Board
June 2-3: FHA/VA/USDA Housing Finance Conference, Washington, D.C.
June 5-8: MBA Presidents Conference, Palm Beach, Fla.
June 8-10: MBA Non-prime Lending & Alternative Products Conference, Washington, D.C.
June 27: MBA Commercial/Multifamily Regional Servicing Forum, San Francisco
June 12-17: CampusMBA School of Mortgage Banking Course II, Denver
June 15-17: CampusMBA eMortgage Workshop, San Francisco
June 17: CampusMBA: Essentials on Employment Law, San Francisco
July 10-15: CampusMBA Commercial School of Mortgage Banking I, San Diego
July 12-13: CampusMBA SPeRs and MISMO Workshop, Washington, D.C.
July 17: CampusMBA: Essentials on Employment Law Compliance, San Francisco
July 17-22: Campus MBA School of Mortgage Banking Course I, Washington, D.C.
Aug. 14-19: CampusMBA School of Mortgage Banking Course III, Chicago
Aug. 24-25: CampusMBA: Detecting and Avoiding Mortgage Fraud, San Francisco
Sept. 7-9: MBA Regulatory Compliance Conference, Washington, D.C.
Sept. 11-13: MBA Document Custody Conference, Miami Beach, Fla.
Sept. 18-23: Campus MBA School of Mortgage Banking Course II, San Diego
Sept. 19-20: MBA Quality Assurance Conference, Chicago
Sept. 20-21: CampusMBA: Handling Fraud Files, San Diego
Sept. 20-21: CampusMBA: Advanced Regulatory Compliance, Atlanta
October 21-22: MBA State & Local Workshop, Orlando
Oct. 23-26: MBA Annual Convention & Expo, Orlando
Nov. 7-9: MBA Accounting, Tax & Financial Analysis Conference, Boca Raton, Fla.
Nov. 10-11: MBA Residential Underwriting Conference, Coronado, Calif.
Nov. 30-Dec. 2: Legal Issues in Mortgage Technology Conference, San Diego
Dec. 7-9: CampusMBA Underwriting University, Miami

2006
Feb. 5-8: MBA Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo, Orlando
Feb. 14: Servicing Management Workshop, Phoenix
Feb. 14-17: MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo, Phoenix
March 29-April 1: MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference, San Diego


Information about MBA Events can be found at the MBA Web site, www.mortgagebankers.org; and at the CampusMBA Web site, www.campusmba.org.
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