
May 2009 - Volume 12, Issue 4 - Page 2
President |
Bill Brogan, Legacy Mortgage |
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President-elect |
Linda Klum, Countrywide Home Loans |
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Treasurer |
Margie Lusk , Union Savings Bank |
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Secretary |
Karen Vosler, Union Savings Bank |
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Board Members |
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Adam Galbraith, Countrywide Home Loans |
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Cabinet Members |
Betty Downing, First Mortgage Banc Corp |
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Past President |
Anna Osborne, National City Mortgage Company |
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No new applications for membership have been received.
Prospective members can obtain an application from Don White, membership chair, online in the member section of the web site and any DMBA officer or board member.
Any member with a comment concerning the pending admittance of any companies, positive or negative, should contact Don at donfwhite@msn.com.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Dear MBA Member:
On Thursday April 30, MBA, and you our members who have been so active in the Mortgage
Action Alliance (MAA), earned a hard fought victory when the U.S. Senate once again rejected
an amendment that would have given bankruptcy judges the ability to modify, or "cram down,"
terms of a primary mortgage.
The amendment, offered by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., as part of a broader bill (S. 896), failed by
a 45-51 vote. Durbin needed 60 votes for the amendment to be included in the broader bill; it is
the fourth time in the past two years that a Durbin-sponsored cram down amendment has
failed, this time by the largest margin yet.
Playing a key role in the defeat were the more than 300 participants who came to MBA's
National Policy Conference in Washington this week. On the day of this crucial vote, hundreds
of MBA members, including 84 Certified Mortgage Bankers (CMBs) and 33 alumni of MBA's
Future Leaders program, visited congressional offices on Capitol Hill, pressing senators to vote
against the amendment.
MBA was the leading voice in the 18-month campaign to defeat cramdown. Your association
testified on Capitol Hill twice in the last year-and-a-half that the effects of cramdown could
raise interest rates for consumers and dry up access to credit.
In addition, through MAA every United States Senator understood how bad this legislation was,
and how many people in our industry opposed it. This is a great example of your effectiveness
as advocates for our industry in Washington.
MBA's advocacy effort left no stone unturned. We combined intense lobbying with an
integrated communications campaign that put MBA spokespeople and allies in a wide range of
print, broadcast and news media to take our message to policy-makers and thought leaders
throughout the country.
While I am pleased to report this week's victory, MBA will remain vigilant on this front. Senator
Durbin has promised, "this is not the last time" he will raise the issue.
As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to call on us.