The


Mortgage
Bankers
Association
(MBA)
announced
on
Wednesday
a
series
of
legislative
recommendations,
which
it
sent
to
the
chairman
and
ranking
member
of
the


U.S.
House
of
Representatives’
Financial
Services
Committee
as
the
body
considers
the
markup
of
proposed
bills
centered
on
real
estate
financing.

The
first
piece
is

House
Joint
Resolution
120,
which
would
codify
congressional
disapproval
of
a
rule
submitted
by
the

Financial
Stability
Oversight
Council
(FSOC)
at
the


U.S.
Department
of
the
Treasury
that
would
provide
a
designation
framework
for
classifying
nonbank
financial
entities
as

systemically
important
financial
institutions,
without
making
any
conclusions
or
designations.

MBA
has
consistently
opposed
such
a
measure,
with
president
and
CEO
Bob
Broeksmit
saying
at
a
conference
in
Washington,
D.C.,

last
year
that
it
would
“be
a
major
regulatory
power
grab
over
a
part
of
the
housing
finance
market
that
is
already
well-regulated
by
the
states
and
other
federal
agencies.”

MBA
recommends
voting
for
this
resolution,
which
is
primarily
sponsored
by
Rep.
French
Hill
(R-Ark.)
and
co-sponsored
by
nine
of
his
Republican
colleagues.

“MBA
believes
that
FSOC
should
be
compelled
to
conduct
a
deep
and
thorough
analysis,
including
weighing
the
cost
and
benefit
of 
such
a
designation
to
the
U.S.
financial
system
as
a
whole
—
and
the
likelihood
the
financial
company
in
question
will
experience
material
financial
distress
as
a
result
of
the
designation,”
MBA
said
in
its
letter.

The
second
piece
is

House
Resolution
5535,
also
known
as
the
Insurance
Data
Protection
Act.
It
would
“prohibit
the
Federal
Insurance
Office
of
the
Department
of
the
Treasury
and
other
financial
regulators
from
collecting
data
directly
from
an
insurance
company,”
according
to
the
text
of
the
bill.

MBA
also
supports
this
measure,
its
letter
said.

“The
legislation,
as
written,
would
protect
consumer
data,
preserve
the
role
of
the
states
as
the
primary
regulator
of
the
insurance
business,
and
reduce
administrative
costs
for
our
association’s
life
insurance
company
members
involved
in
commercial
real
estate
finance
activities,”
the
letter
read.

Sponsored
by
Rep.
Scott
Fitzgerald
(R-Wis.),
the
bill
is
also
uniformly
supported
by
Republicans
and
features
25
co-sponsors.

Lastly,

H.R.
802,
known
as
the
Respect
State
Housing
Laws
Act,
would
“amend
the
CARES
Act
to
remove
a
requirement
on
lessors
to
provide
notice
to
vacate”
among
other
purposes,
according
to
the
bill’s
text.

The
Coronavirus
Aid,
Relief
and
Economic
Security
(CARES)
Act
was
passed
in
the
immediate
aftermath
of
the
COVID-19
pandemic
declaration
in
March
2020
and
signed
into
law
late
that
month
by
then-President
Donald
Trump.
H.R.
802
would
eliminate
“a
provision
from
the
CARES
Act
that
requires
a
30-day
notice
period
before
a
landlord
may
begin
eviction
proceedings
against
a
tenant
in
federally
assisted
or
federally
backed
housing,”
according
to
MBA’s
letter.

MBA
also
supports
this
measure,
saying
that
the
30-day
notice
period
“was
meant
to
be
temporary,
creates
an
unnecessary
federal
interference
under
state
law,
and
has
subjected
housing
operators
to
significant
operational
hurdles
and
financial
strain,”
the
letter
explained.

This
measure
is
the
only
one
of
the
three,
technically,
to
feature
bipartisan
support.
Sponsored
by
Rep.
Barry
Loudermilk
(R-Ga.),
the
bill
features
31
Republican
co-sponsors
and
one
Democratic
co-sponsor,
Rep.
Vicente
Gonzalez
of
Texas.

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