MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION

Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) works to increase Black homeownership through thought leadership, market-based solutions, advocacy efforts, and strategic partnerships. As momentum grows for efforts such as our CONVERGENCE place-based programs, the Building Generational Wealth through Homeownership Initiative, and the Home for All Pledge, MBA will continue to share best practices, information, and resources that will help the mortgage industry expand access to homeownership opportunities.

Convergence

CONVERGENCE is a collective impact initiative to increase Black homeownership and help close the racial wealth gap. CONVERGENCE leverages and elevates the strength and resources of local community networks and creates new locally driven solutions.

This work provides a growing template of best practices on how local stakeholders like lenders, real estate professionals, housing counselors, nonprofit developers, and local government, along with national partners in the housing ecosystem can better serve minority borrowers and those in underserved communities. This ongoing, local engagement — and the lessons learned — will help drive strategic initiatives that are scalable and effective. There are currently three CONVERGENCE place-based locations: Memphis, TN; Columbus, OH; and Philadelphia, PA.

CONVERGENCE Memphis launched in March 2020 in partnership with the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in late 2021. CONVERGENCE Memphis continued its focus on community engagement through strategic partnerships with local and national organizations to participate in events such as homebuyer fairs and educational opportunities for housing industry professionals. In addition, CONVERGENCE Memphis is working on a program with CoreLogic that uses an evidence-based design tool to enable local land developers to answer critical questions during the pre-development stage, thereby accelerating the process for capitalizing, permitting, and approving new, single-family, homeownership starts.

CONVERGENCE Columbus launched in July 2021 in partnership with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University. It is now hosted by the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio. During the past year, CONVERGENCE Columbus developed a training class for real estate professionals to increase their knowledge of programs and products for first-time homebuyers. The course will serve as a model that can be replicated in other CONVERGENCE cities. Also, CONVERGENCE Columbus and MBA launched a pilot for a new counseling-focused technology platform that will give housing counselors and homebuyers greater certainty about the buyer’s degree of readiness when applying for a mortgage. The platform will track key milestones along the homebuyer journey, including whether a mortgage application was ultimately approved.

CONVERGENCE Philadelphia launched in March 2023 with the support of Radian, TD Bank, and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. During the months leading up to the official launch, more than 50 local organizations provided feedback about the barriers to homeownership for minorities in Philadelphia and explored a wide range of innovative solutions. This information was used to develop a strategic plan that will guide CONVERGENCE Philadelphia’s collaborations and activities for the next several years.

Building Generational Wealth Through Homeownership

MBA’s Building Generational Wealth through Homeownership Initiative, which was launched in September 2021, continued to provide industry leadership for reducing the racial homeownership gap; developing and supporting policies that support sustainable homeownership for communities of color; and promoting fair, equitable, and responsible lending for minority borrowers. Through this initiative, MBA developed a Special Purpose Credit Program Toolkit for lenders with the National Fair Housing Alliance in partnership with the Homeownership Council of America.

Home For All

The Home for All Pledge represents the mortgage industry’s long-term commitment to a sustained and holistic approach to addressing racial inequities in housing. Launched in 2021, the Home for All Pledge was a top priority for MBA in the past year and is tied directly to MBA’s new Affordable Rental Housing Strategy (Strategy). Growing the ranks of diverse professionals in multifamily housing lending and development is among the key pillars of Strategy, which seeks to address the affordable rental housing crisis through policies, programs, and practices. The efforts outlined in the Strategy will help to create more well-informed and successful renters and, over time, a more stable group of homeowners and community members.