Mortgage Bankers Association Creates New Think Tank
Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Regina Lowrie, announced the formation of a think tank comprised of real estate finance leaders today. It will be known as the 
Council to Shape Change. The purpose of the organization is to develop a strategic framework that will guide industry and company planning and development for the next decade.
“The last several years have been record years for this industry. The only thing we know for certain is that the future holds change in the U.S. and global economies and financial markets,” said Lowrie. “This Council will assemble leading strategic thinkers in our industry and draw upon broad input from industry practitioners and outside experts to discuss and map out the future of issues fundamental to the industry’s future success.”
The Council will come together for a series of as many as six monthly meetings, which will be moderated by an independent outside facilitator to assure “non-partisan” discussions. The meetings will focus on:
- Changing borrower profiles
- The nature of the customer relationship and workforce diversity
- Credit decisions - who makes them and ho
- Operational demands and capabilities
- Capital markets and investor demand
- Potential changes to industry organization and structure
- Technology’s impact on these and other topics.
The group - which will focus on trends and conditions that will impact the future structure, scope, products and profitability of the real estate finance industry - will consist of 15 to 20 experts representing all aspects of the mortgage industry and based on position in the mortgage food chain, organization size, channel focus/presence, industry segment and organizational structure. Participants will be announced in November.
“We are very excited about this endeavor, and look forward to developing a vision of the industry that will provide grounding for future decisions regarding business, policy and advocacy,” said Lowrie, who is also the president of Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Sources, a source for home equity loans, government loans and home improvement loans.
