MBA Conference Draws Protesters
I headed into San Francisco this morning for the opening session of the 95th Annual Mortgage Bankers Association Conference and was subjected to a group of protesters objecting to the bailout, foreclosures and mortgage bankers in general.
What a poignant reminder how badly the mortgage crisis is hitting folks and how great the responsibility is to get the right fixes in place.
The opening session consisted of the heads of Fannie Mae (Herbert Allison), Freddie Mac (David Moffett) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (James Lockhart) discussing the current state of the market. But, even inside, a protester got through and disrupted the panel with tales of foreclosure.
I am headed back this afternoon to get in front of the right people to push our agenda on open and transparent CMBS standards. I plan on going to a MORPAC (Mortgage Bankers Association Political Action Committee) cocktail party tonight to get a sense of the political landscape and will meet with as many folks in a position of leadership as I can.
While most people at this conference are concerned with residential MBS, the solutions are no doubt related. I will report back at the end of the conference.
 The Mortgage Heavyweights — Moffett, Allison and Lockhart (left to right). |
 Protestors: “Banks get Rich, We get Evicted” |
More protesters of the Grand Theft Bailout |
 This one is self explanatory. |
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Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.