The Mortgage Bankers Association has appointed veteran FDIC lawyer Michael Briggs as its new top lawyer.
Briggs joins MBA straight from FDIC, where he spent 12 years managing the FDIC’s legal division overseeing a team of lawyers that advised on consumer issues. His team counseled clients on issues including mortgage lending, anti-discrimination and fair lending, and economic inclusion and community development. Before that, Briggs served as assistant general counsel at Bank of America, and chief legal officer at America’s Community Bankers.
As general counsel, Briggs will manage MBA’s legal affairs and oversee human resources and the organization’s nonprofit foundation that assists families with ill children in mortgage and rental payments.
“Michael brings a rare blend of industry, trade association, private practice, and regulatory experience that will allow him to provide immediate value and leadership to MBA and our members,” Bob Broeksmit, CMB, MBA’s President and CEO said in a press release. “He has vast knowledge of the financial services regulatory landscape, both from within the government and from the outside.”
Briggs succeeds Helen Kanovsky, who received $394,628 from the MBA in fiscal year 2018. Kanovsky, a former general counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, held her position at MBA for almost four years.
Briggs joins the MBA as it works to help the real estate finance industry navigate the risk of a new home foreclosure crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. MBA estimated that over 4.2 million homeowners are in forbearance plans designed to give borrowers breathing room with their mortgage payments, with 8.46% of total loans now in forbearance.
The trade group utilizes a range of lobbyists, including large law firms like Holland & Knight LLP and GrayRobinson P.A. The latter firm received $22,500 during the first quarter of fiscal 2020 to lobby for issues such as housing finance reform, provisions of the CARES Act that affect the mortgage industry, and the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019.
MBA recently retained Blue Ridge Law & Policy, a legal advising firm that will help advise MBA on mortgage finance and banking issues.
To contact the reporter on this story: Allie Reed in Washington at areed@bloombergindustry.com
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