HousingWire hosted our first webinar of 2017 in high spirits with our second highest number of sign ups of all time.
T-minus 40 minutes till @JacobGaffney @mgic @rcwhalen @brentnyitray discuss what to expect from Trump and mortgages in 2017! pic.twitter.com/ZndnZ1drDG
— Brena Swanson (@BrenaSwanson) January 26, 2017
You had questions, we had answers.
In the webinar, Trump’s Mortgage Nation, three experts talk about what the new administration will mean for the housing markets: Brent Nyitray, iServe Residential Lending director of capital markets, Christopher Whalen, Kroll Bond Rating Agency senior managing director and Sal Miosi, MGIC senior vice president of business strategy and operations.
One of the big questions that the panelists set out to answer – Will Trump repeal Dodd Frank?
Whalen responded that the administration will repeal parts of it. As he put it, it’s the easier thing to get done compared to some of the other items on President Donald Trump’s agenda such as tax reform.
Whalen also weighed in on Cordray’s position and future at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“I don’t think they’ll go after Cordray directly because they don’t want to give him that platform,” Whalen explained, saying that would only give him more exposure for his future political endeavors.
As far as reform for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the panelists agreed that Trump would not likely have any motivation to change their current status, despite what his Treasury pick Steven Mnuchin alluded to.
Nyitray mentioned the Fed’s plan to increase interest rates two to three times in 2017, saying that he did not expect to see major market stimulus, and that the rate hikes will be determined by market. He commented that the “FOMC has been overly optimistic.”
And of course, the question that is on everyone’s mind – will Trump really reduce regulation by 75% as he claims?
“I think incrementally the answer is yes,” Whalen responded. However, he explained that Trump won’t try to roll back regulations put forth by CFPB and TILA RESPA.
But HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney explained he saved the best question for last.
Saved the best for last. https://t.co/Nl9SOn5Xaw
— JacobGaffney (@JacobGaffney) January 26, 2017
The question – Should we expect Trump Mortgage to make a comeback?
The only response, aside from laughter all around, from the panelists was a “No comment” from Miosi.
If you missed the webinar, it’s not too late to get a free copy of the playback. Click here for more information.
Kelsey Ramírez is a Reporter at HousingWire. Ramírez is a recent journalism graduate of University of Texas at Arlington. Ramírez previously covered hard issues such as homelessness and domestic violence and began at HousingWire as an Editorial Assistant.