The man was not a frustrated mortgage banker, but rather Representative Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Although the piles of regulations that have accrued from the Dodd-Frank Act may stem from good intentions, they’ll most likely yield unintended consequences and serve to cramp the private market, said Bachus at the MBA conference, held this year in Chicago, Ill.

More than 3,700 new regulations have come from the bill, with another 4,257 in the pipeline, said Bachus, and 219 of those will have a net negative impact of $100 million or more on the economy, according to cost analysis.

But, in order to strengthen the American economy, Bachus said, we need to be very careful about passing regulations.

There’s too much spending, and not enough revenue, he said; “That’s $100 million for the economy if those regulations aren’t passed.”

And, while he acknowledged that they’re “well-meaning” in intention, he also pointed out that numbers of regulations being passed in Washington, D.C. are at a “record high.”

“There’s never been this many [regulations] limiting and restricting the private sector,” Bachus said in his presentation. “The only other time where the government was managing or micromanaging the economy this much was during the Great Depression.”

He mentioned former president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, saying that the worst part of regulations are the unintended consequences.

The Agricultural Adjustment Agency was created as part of the New Deal, in an attempt to “help” farmers who were struggling with the low prices of agricultural commodities.

The agency passed regulation tinkering with supply-and-demand metrics that brought about plowing under 10 million acres of cotton, and killing six million piglets, in 1933.

By 1935, the US was importing 36 million bales cotton, and 2 million pounds ham and bacon, because of a shortage. In two years’ time, the US had gone from exporting to importing, and from being the largest cotton exporter to the largest importer.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Federal program which didn’t have an unintended consequence,” Bachus told the audience. Then, in reference to the Dodd-Frank Act, he added, “We have to make sure that all these regulations don’t have all these unintended consequences.”

Government planning and control did not get the American economy to be the largest, he said, adding that the government needs to step out of the way and allow the private market to take over.

Earlier in the MBA conference’s first general session, newly-elected chairman Michael Young voiced similar concerns, saying that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had ”too big of a government footprint,” taking up a majority of the mortgage market.

“That must be reduced,” said Young.

He also said the MBA believes the Dodd-Frank qualified residential mortgage (QRM) guidelines are too rigid, and don’t allow for mortgage lenders’ discretion to grant exemption for lower risk loans. The MBA has previously spoken out against the new ruling.

However, Raj Date, the special advisor to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, countered by saying that the Bureau believes in “smart regulation.”

This means regulation that is evidence-based, relying on research and data analysis; participatory, sharing exactly what they’re doing with the public and with industries; and precise, inviting feedback for areas which need immediate focus.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The conference, which is co-hosted by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, kicks off on Wednesday evening, September 7, at the Hilton Post Oak in Houston, Texas.

The following morning, on Sept. 8 at 9 a.m., event chair Scott Norman, an Austin-based area manager for MetLife’s reverse mortgage business, will give the opening remarks for a day of timely reverse mortgage industry information.

Topics up for discussion include financial assessments, the secondary market, lending limits, loan servicing and new regulatory requirements, and the day will feature a round table with three different industry experts.

“I think they’re going to really touch base on the real artery of reverse mortgages and what’s important,” says Norman, who calls the one-day event a “one-stop shop.”

Industry education is key, says Norman, and the conference will offer the opportunity to engage in dialogue and hear directly from regulators and policymakers, as well as NRMLA President Peter Bell, industry analyst John Lunde and a financial planning expert who will share insight into the use of reverse mortgages as a financial planning tool.

The full schedule can be viewed on the event’s webpage, although it may undergo some tweaks before September 7.

The Texas MBA is the largest and oldest state MBA in the country, and similar to how reverse mortgage presence has expanded in Texas, Norman says the conference will rank near the top in terms of attendance for similar events. Texas MBA is anticipating attendees from more than 50 different institutions, and 15 states.

RMD will be heading town to Texas for the event.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The conference will be co-hosted with the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and is one of the only state specific reverse mortgage conferences in the country.  The event brings professionals throughout the country seeking strategic options in the Lone Star State.  Attendees include upper management from the nation’s leading reverse mortgage lenders, loan officers, real estate attorneys and title companies.

“With the lending landscape changing almost daily, those attending this conference will receive the most up to date information on everything from loan limits to possible risk retention concerns and secondary market updates,” said Scott Norman, President of the Texas MBA.

With Texas taking over Florida as the second largest state for reverse mortgages, expect the conference to attract lenders from all over the US.

“With reverse mortgage volume continuing to rise in Texas, we expect Reverse Mortgage Day to be attended by lenders throughout the country,” said Norman.

The agenda is being finalized, but attendees are encouraged to check out the website for more information.

The event, “NRMLA West: New Requirements/New Relationships” will focus on how lenders can prepare their business for regulatory changes coming this year.

“With the new compensation rules being implemented April 1, the rethinking of the wholesaler/broker relationship and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau set to begin researching a reverse mortgage report, we want to get you a jump start on how this all might effect your every day business,” said the association.  ”We’re planning two days of discussions for business executives and managers, regulatory and legal teams, sales teams and vendors.”

The conference is the only west coast event and will be followed by the Washington Policy Conference in DC and the Annual Meeting and Expo in November.

For more information, visit NRMLA’s website.

The session will cover HECM purchase transactions, refinances, and updates to the process for reverse mortgages.  The webinar will also outline the changes to the HECM standard and the New HECM Saver.

“New lenders to HECM, HECM experts and Housing Counselors will all benefit from this training,” said HUD.  ”Registrants will receive an email confirmation 48 hours prior to the webinar date with a web link, toll-free dial-in number and instructions for participating in the training.”

Session information is below.

Date: January 19, 2011
Time: 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Sign up here.

“By far the most important topic is the TPO [third-party originator] issue,” maintains Dennis Haber, executive vice-president, Agency for Consumer Equity. “Sadly, to date, there has been total silence on this important issue,” according to Haber, who wants to hear about the “practical considerations that correspondents need to be aware of. Hopefully much light will be shed on this topic” at the meeting, he says. Haber also hopes wants more discussion of federal regulatory reforms, “such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will really impact the future federal regulatory environment.”

Joshua Shein, managing partner, Great Oak Lending Partners, says “many of us are interested in understanding more about the current uncertainty and fluctuations in the market with regards to the pricing of the loans. The big question,” he believes, “is how much more movement will there be and where will it end up?”

Jeffrey S. Taylor, chairman, RMI-Reverse Market Insight, Inc., tells RMD that he expects “a major topic” for the meeting to be the new HECM counseling protocol. “What will the impacts be to the new HECM counseling wait times and potential rise in cost?” he wonders. And, “with the T&I [tax and insurance] defaults becoming more of a default counseling resource issue,” Taylor asks: “Will the existing counseling resources be compromised from new origination counseling towards default counseling?”

Meeting in a city drenched in culture and history, reverse mortgage professionals will hope to come away with a stronger idea of whether and when their sector will live up to the considerable potential they regularly hear so much about.

Written by Neil Morse

The event, which takes place November 3 through 5 at the Roosevelt New Orleans, will feature over 30 exhibitors, 21 informative sessions, and 78 speakers from 46 different companies.

The association announced new speakers including Paul Spindt, Keehn Barry Chair Professor at the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, who will discuss the economy and Colin Cushman, Financial Economist at HUD, the person responsible for engineering the HECM Saver.

They will be joining Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer, FHA Commissioner David Stevens, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Vicki Bott to discuss the future of the industry.

Additionally, the National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) approved NRMLA as an official course provider enabling licensed mortgage loan originators to earn continuing education credits for the SAFE Act at future NRMLA events. To learn more about the event, see here.

Written by Kelly Mellott

Editors Note:  RMD will be there covering the event and doing interviews, have something to say?  Let us know.

The two day event will include opening remarks from the Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair will be the keynote luncheon speaker.

“The housing sector, one of the main engines of our economy, has seen positive signs, but there are many hurdles yet to overcome. It is very clear that as a country we need to aggressively examine the incentives of our system of mortgage finance to ensure that the problems that contributed to the financial crisis are addressed,” said Bair in a statement.  ”It will be difficult to restore stability and normalcy to the housing finance system – and thus the broader economy – without reform. Over the next two days we will hear from experts across the housing spectrum to help identify solutions to these vital issues.”

According to the FDIC, experts from the public, private and academic sectors will participate in the symposium to discuss mortgage finance, foreclosures, loan modifications, and securitizations. Chairman Bernanke’s opening remarks and Chairman Bair’s luncheon address will be streamed online here.

To view the full agenda, see here.