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40 Journal MORTGAGE INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT COLLABORATE ON SOLUTIONS In June, the Five Star Institute presented the 2021 Government Forum: A Virtual Event, bringing together leaders from the mortgage servicing sector and government representatives for a day full of impactful conversation on the industry's most pressing issues. Kicking the day off was Five Star Global Chairman Ed Delgado who welcomed attendees to the virtual event and introduced Rep. Steve Bartlett, Senior Advisory Board Member for Treliant; President & CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable from 1999- 2012; and Representative to the U.S. Congress from 1991-1993. While in Congress, Bartlett served as a member of the House Banking Committee, where he led the successful push to let the market set interest rates on government- insured mortgages. He served as Deputy Whip and was a sponsor or principal co-sponsor of nearly 20 major pieces of legislation, including the Enhanced Secondary Mortgage Market Act, Fair Labor Standards Act Reforms, FHA Deregulation, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Among the topics of discussion brought up by Delgado was that the industry is heading toward a "Housing Crisis 2.0." "ere are too many similarities to what the industry was going through back in 2008," said Delgado of the current state of the marketplace. "is crisis is born not from subprime lending or irresponsible credit, but more from the long-term and lasting effects of a prolonged forbearance plan." Bartlett noted some concerns that need to be addressed by the industry to avoid a potential housing crisis. "We have some issues the industry needs to deal with," Bartlett said. "is is nothing like the mess we found ourselves in during the last crisis. e industry is strong, and I have never seen such a good and solid use of technology in any industry that I can recall. ey are increasing the use of AI to serve all types of customers. Secondly, the industry is all about serving their customers … finding a mortgage that works and people can pay back." e Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) recently reported that approximately 2.1 million homeowners are in some stage of forbearance, and that, according to Bartlett, is a challenge. "With the clients we work with at Treliant, the last thing we want to do is foreclose on someone, except in extreme circumstance where someone has abandoned the property," Bartlett said. "e last thing an originator or servicer should do is foreclosure because, as we say in Texas, 'All hell will break loose' if we start doing that! at's a different mindset than we have had historically with mortgages, but that's the mindset we have to go into now." e "Economic Precipice" panel discussion followed, where Moderator Stanley C. Middleman, Founder and CEO of Freedom Mortgage Corporation led a chat on the fallout of the pandemic and a deeper look at when the U.S. economy will rebound as a result. Panelists joining Middleman included Edward Golding from the MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy and Head of the FHA from 2015-2017; Tobias Peter Director of Research for the American Enterprise Institute's Housing Center, and Jesse Roth, EVP of Business Development for Auction. com. "We are coming off a pandemic, which I have absolutely no experience with prior to this in handling," Middleman said. "We have seen some significant events in our lives— hurricanes, earthquakes, disasters—but certainly nothing of this magnitude. We have seen a significant government response, directing private enterprise to go out and do the job of supporting the people in this country. From my perspective, we have done an unbelievable job of protecting people and their homes, helping them continue life as close to normal." As Middleman noted, the government and servicing industry have worked in unison to keep more Americans in their homes as the nation faced the crisis of the pandemic over the past year. "I think it's important we take on that social responsibility of taking care of homeowners … I call it 'Capitalism with a conscious,' but it's best when private meets public," Middleman said. "When the government can do good to help homeownership, I think that's a real positive thing." Golding noted a number of actions that the government can take not only to ease the volume of forbearances, but also to level the playing field and make affordability a possibility for all. "We know a lot of groups have been left behind," Golding said. "We need a way, and homeownership, along with education, is a way to build up wealth in communities that had not had access to wealth." And as the presidential regime transitioned in January, with it brought a number of new appointments to the housing industry's top regulators. With new leadership at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the "Setting Priorities" panel examined the focus of these new leaders and what they can do to facilitate a smooth transition for those coming out of forbearance. Led by Moderator Alex McGillis, Senior Director, Product Development, e Answer for Quicken Loans, the "Setting Priorities" panel featured Leslie Meaux Pordzik, SVP in the Office of Issuer and Portfolio Management at Ginnie Mae; Chad Mosley, President of Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS); Prasant Sar, Supervisory Policy Analyst for the FHFA; and John Vella, Chief Revenue Officer for Altisource.

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