MBA President Kicks Off Convention With Call to Increased Political Action

SAN DIEGO-The 2001 Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention kicked off just a few hours ago with a frank view of the prospects for the year and a vote of confidence offered by Andrew D. Woodward, president of the sponsoring Mortgage Bankers Association of America. In a year when the economy is in question and a new, evenly split Congress may take its toll on business decisions, he also gave a clear call to action for the MBA to take a “seat at the public-policy table.”

Woodward noted before a near-capacity crowd that the “business is changing as we speak,” and cited a trends toward consolidation, market volatility and technology as major factors in that changing landscape. “Industry consolidation is not unique to the real estate finance business,” said Woodward, who is also chairman of Bank of America Mortgage. “It’s happening in most service industries. As new mega-players are created on the strength of their brand and economies of scale, new niche players spring up daily, driven by their entrepreneurship, their knowledge of local markets or their technology skills.

“Market volatility has been our way of life,” he continued. “Remember, we are an industry that has survived interest-rate swings from 6% to 18% and back again.”