The six additional promotions include:

Francis Creighton, previously senior director of legislative affairs, will be promoted to vice president of legislative affairs where he will manage the day-to-day activities of federal legislative affairs;

Paul Richman, previously senior director of state and local legislative affairs, will be promoted to vice president of state government affairs where he will manage the association's state legislative efforts;

Josh Denney, previously director of public policy, will be promoted to senior director of public policy where he will be responsible for managing day-to-day policy development and implementation throughout the association;

Paul Hilliar, previously director of government affairs, will be promoted to senior director of legislative affairs where he will have overall responsibility for the daily operation of the association's political programs, specifically MORPAC and the Mortgage Action Alliance;

Sheryl Pardo, previously director of government affairs, will be promoted to senior director of government affairs where she will be responsible for managing special advocacy and policy projects, including MBA's cultural diversity initiative; and,

Meghan Sullivan, previously assistant director of government affairs, will be promoted to director of state government affairs where she will be responsible for coordinating MBA's advocacy efforts in key states, including outreach to state and local policy-makers and industry stakeholders.

"I wouldn't expect too much to change given that we still have consistent leadership with regard to our federal and state representation," Gustafson said. "MBA locked down the team that was in place to ensure consistent, high quality advocacy both at the federal and state level."

"Our management philosophy at MBA is to have strong and deep bench strength within each division," Kempner said. "I am proud to honor the hard work and dedication of these individuals. Their commitment to excellence has made a significant contribution to MBA. In these expanded roles, they will each continue to play an important part in representing our industry both here in Washington and in state capitals across the country."
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The proposed instructions, which were developed by a working group of members from all three associations, were released last week. The instructions would replace numerous, diverse sets of instructions used across the lending and settlement industries.

The new general instructions describe the requirements for all closing transactions and the specific instructions establish a standard format to provide the details of each particular closing including borrower(s) names, property address, loan type, etc.

The working group believes that the instructions will result in increased efficiency and cost savings by lowering the costs of compliance and training, helping stem mortgage fraud and facilitating automated mortgage originations. All of these savings would result in lower costs to consumers

“MBA was pleased to play a leadership role in the development of  the proposed closing instructions which hold great promise for the mortgage industry. We encourage mortgage industry professionals to provide their suggestions to help complete this effort,” said Ken Markison , senior director and regulatory counsel at MBA. “Once the task force receives all of the comments, it will move as quickly as possible to offer the finalized uniform closing instructions to the industry for use in future mortgage transactions.”

When the instructions are finalized they will not be required to be used but they are likely to be widely accepted.

The proposed uniform closing instructions and the addresses for comment submissions can be found on MBA’s Web site at http://www.campusmba.org/products/default.aspx?product_code=E2801716E/REGIS.
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MBA Chairman-Elect David Kittle said MBA appreciates the committee members' intent to do something to help troubled borrowers, but this piece of legislation is not the answer. "Giving judges the power to completely rewrite a loan contract between a lender and a borrower brings into question the value of the collateral the loan is made against, which is the cornerstone of our mortgage finance system," Kittle said. "The end result will be a major repricing of risk by lenders."

Kittle estimated that if the bill were to pass, it would result in a 1.5-2 point increase in the rate most Americans would pay on their mortgages.

"If you take a 6 percent rate and make it 8 percent, someone with a $300,000 mortgage will have to pay an extra $400 a month, or $4800 a year, which comes out to over $144,000 over the life of a 30 year loan. That is what this bill will do if it becomes law," Kittle said.

He noted a number ways lenders are acting to help borrowers who are falling behind on their bills, including the framework for expedited loan modifications announced last week by the American Securitization Forum and endorsed by MBA and the HOPE NOW alliance.

"And we will continue doing more because nobody wins when a home goes into foreclosure. But to radically alter the bedrock on which our mortgage system is built is a counterproductive overreaction to the current situation," Kittle said.
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"We are pleased to see the House continuing to focus on the critical need to extend TRIEA," said MBA Chairman Kieran Quinn, CMB.

"As real estate capital markets continue to weather industry turmoil, extending terrorism risk insurance will resolve an important area of capital market uncertainly - the long-term availability of terrorism insurance," Quinn added. "Given these stakes, MBA will continue its proactive work with Congress to achieve a successful passage of TRIA legislation before its expiration at the end of the year."
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The $3.22 trillion in commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding recorded by the Federal Reserve was an increase of $87.7 billion from the second quarter this year. Multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew to $813 billion, an increase of $23.5 billion or 3 percent from the second quarter.

“The third quarter included the periods immediately before and immediately after the dramatic adjustments in the capital markets,” said Jamie Woodwell, senior director of commercial/multifamily research at MBA.  “As a result, commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew to a new record – $3.2 trillion – but the quarter-over-quarter change in mortgage debt outstanding fell from $107 billion last quarter to $87.7 billion this quarter.  Even with the drop, the $87.7 billion increase in Q3 still marked the fourth largest increase on record.”

The Federal Reserve Flow of Funds data summarizes the holding of loans or, if the loans are securitized, the form of the security.  For example, many life insurance companies invest both in whole loans for which they hold the mortgage note (and which appear in this data under Life Insurance Companies) and in commercial mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations and other asset backed securities for which the security issuers and trustees hold the note (and which appear here under CMBS, CDO and other ABS issuers).

Commercial banks continue to hold the largest share of commercial/multifamily mortgages, $1.35 trillion, or 42 percent of the total.  Many of the commercial mortgage loans reported by commercial banks however, are actually "commercial and industrial" loans to which a piece of commercial property has been pledged as collateral. It is the borrower's business income - not the income derived from the property's rents and leases - that drives the underwriting, pricing and performance of these loans. A recent MBA Research PolicyNote found that among the top 10 commercial real estate bank lenders, 48 percent of their aggregate balance of commercial (non-multifamily) real estate loans were related to owner-occupied properties.

Since the other loans reported here are generally income property loans, meaning that the income primarily comes from rents, the commercial bank numbers are not comparable.

CMBS, CDO and other ABS issues are the second largest holders of commercial/multifamily mortgages, holding $760 billion, or 24 percent of the total.  Life insurance companies hold $293 billion, or 9 percent of the total, and savings institutions hold $212 billion, or 7 percent of the total. government sponsored enterprises and agency-and GSE- backed mortgage pools, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, hold $146 billion in multifamily loans that support the mortgage-backed securities they issue and an additional $126 billion "whole" loans in their own portfolios, for a total share of 8 percent of outstanding commercial/multifamily mortgages.  (As noted above, many life insurance companies, banks and the GSEs also purchase and hold a large number of CMBS, CDO and other ABS issues. These loans appear in the CMBS, CDO and other ABS category referenced above.)

Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding
ooking just at multifamily mortgages, the GSEs and Ginnie Mae hold the largest share of multifamily mortgages, with $146 billion in federally related mortgage pools and $126 billion in their own portfolios - 34 percent of the total multifamily debt outstanding. hey are followed by commercial banks with $163 billion, or 20 percent of the total; CMBS, CDO and other ABS issuers with $123 billion, or 15 percent of the total; savings institutions with $95 billion, or 12 percent of the total; state and local governments with $65 billion, or 8 percent of the total; and life insurance companies with $47 billion, or 6 percent of the total.

Changes in Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding
In the third quarter of this year, CMBS, CDO and other ABS issues saw the largest increase in dollar terms in their holdings of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt - an increase of $50 billion, or 7 percent, which represents 57 percent of the total $88 billion increase. 

Commercial banks increased their holdings of commercial/multifamily mortgages by $9 billion, or 0.7 percent - representing 10.5 percent of the net increase in commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding.

In percentage terms, finance companies saw the biggest increase in their holdings of commercial/multifamily mortgages - a jump of 7.5 percent, while state and local government retirement funds saw their holdings decrease by 2 percent .

Changes in Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding
The $23.5 billion increase in multifamily mortgage debt outstanding between the second quarter this year and the third quarter represents a 3 percent increase.  In dollar terms, CMBS, CDO and other ABS issuers saw the largest increase in their holdings of multifamily mortgage debt - an increase of $7 billion, or 6 percent, which represents 29.4 percent of the total increase. Government-sponsored enterprises increased their holdings of multifamily mortgage debt by $6.8 billion, or 5.7 percent. Agency- and GSE-backed mortgage pool holdings increased by $4.6 billion, or 3.2 percent.

In percentage terms, CMBS, CDO and other ABS issues recorded the biggest increase in their holdings of multifamily mortgages, 6 percent, while REITs saw the biggest drop, -6.9 percent .
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In today's business climate, information is the key to ensuring you and your business navigate the challenges the industry is facing. The conference—designed for lawyers and compliance officers at all levels of experience—industry experts and conference participants explore the hottest legal topics in the mortgage industry, including:

• Federal Anti-Predatory Lending Legislation and Regulations
• Servicing and Loss Mitigation
• State Law Developments
• RESPA and TILA Reform
• Regulatory Guidance, Including Nontraditional and Subprime
• Secondary Market: GSE and Agency Issues
• Protecting Against Mortgage Fraud Against Lenders
• HMDA and Fair Lending Developments
• Data Security, ID Theft and Privacy Issues
• FCRA and FACTA Developments
• Litigation Developments and Class Action
• FLSA/Employment Law
• Legal Ethics
• Dealing with Reputation Risk
• Other Compliance Considerations

CLE credits available for attendees of this event.

Make your hotel reservations at La Costa Resort and Spa before April 4 by calling 800-854-5000. Room rates are $220/night, single/double, including the daily resort fee.

Register today: Call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org/conferences.
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