WASHINGTON, D.C. – Michael Jones, CFO of Thrive Mortgage will be the new
Chairman of The Community Mortgage Lenders of America. Michael has been a member of the
Board since 2017 and has served as the Treasurer prior to his election as the new
Chair.
Michael will replace Kim Curtis, President & CEO of Tidewater Home
Funding, LLC, who completed her term at the end of 2019 and will remain on the Board.
Michael, a 2019 HousingWire Vanguard Award recipient, will be focusing his
agenda on topics which are key to the viability and continuation of midsize and small
lenders throughout the country.
“My primary focus for the CMLA right now is to
make sure that midsize and small community-based lenders have a voice when it comes to
the CFPB, TRID, and the GSEs. These are the make or break topics for our members and
future members. Independent Mortgage Bankers have and will continue to be essential to
the overall market, and I want to make sure the unique needs of IMBs are not only heard
but fully understood by policy makers and regulators,” said Michael.
Two primary objectives which will be on The CMLA’s agenda are:
1.
Loan Officer Compensation Rule
· Allow loan originators to
voluntarily lower their compensation in response to demonstrable competition in order to
pass along the savings to the consumer.
· Allow lenders to reduce a loan
originator’s compensation when the originator makes an error.
· Allow lower
compensation in order to offer loans made under state and local housing finance agency
(HFA) programs.
2. QM Patch
· A
solution that does not diminish market conditions and allows for midsize and small
lenders equal ability to provide the necessary loan programs to all borrowers.
Michael added, “A quote by Theodore Roosevelt is very applicable to our industry and
the way we do business is.”
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who
points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done
them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face
is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly.
“I look
forward to working closely with Michael on our efforts in DC,” said Ed Wallace,
Executive Director of CMLA. “His insight has always proven to be on point, and I know he
will do a tremendous job for our members as well as the industry.”
The Community
Mortgage Lenders of America is an industry advocacy group solely focused on the concerns
of midsize and small community-based lenders.