Outgoing FHA Commissioner Will Head Mortgage Bankers Group
Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David H. Stevens will become head of the Mortgage Bankers Association after he leaves his government post this month, the trade group said.
Stevens last week announced his intention to resign from the housing agency. He will join the Washington-based bankers group in May.
Michael D. Berman, chairman of the bankers group, called Stevens “uniquely qualified” for the job.
“He has had a tremendous impact at FHA,” Berman said in a statement today.
Stevens, 54, has been working with other federal officials to craft a settlement over widespread errors in foreclosure procedures with mortgage servicers, including Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), Bank of America Corp. and PNC Financial Service Group -- all of which are members of the trade group.
The mortgage bankers group represents more than 2,400 companies including lenders, brokers, commercial banks, thrifts and life insurers, according to its website.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, led by Secretary Shaun Donovan, said in a statement that Stevens has been working with the agency’s general counsel to ensure that no ethics rules are violated during the transition.
Recusal
“He will have no further contact with the MBA or any of its member organizations with respect to any matter pending before HUD,” agency spokesman Neill Coleman said. “This recusal goes beyond what is legally required but both Secretary Donovan and Commissioner Stevens believe it is important to ensure there is not even an appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Under federal law, Stevens can’t lobby the agency for two years after he leaves office.
“It’s the way of Washington. Time and again people who serve in important government capacities cash in that experience and go work for the private sector,” said Dave Levinthal, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit group that monitors lobbying. “We see hundreds of examples of people spinning through the revolving door.”
Stevens worked for more than two decades in the financial- services industry before joining the FHA, including as president of Long and Foster Cos., a privately held real estate firm. He was instrumental in the government efforts to steady the housing system after its collapse in 2008.
He will replace John A. Courson, who joined the MBA in August 2008 and became chief executive officer in January 2009.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lorraine Woellert in Washington at lwoellert@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lawrence Roberts at lroberts13@bloomberg.net.
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