The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is ready to back the creation of a national registry of home loan originators, but only as long as it is run by Uncle Sam.

"We stand at a crossroads for accountability and brokers and are ready to lead the way," says Harry Dinham, president of the 25,000-member NAMB.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors is currently building a central registry of loan brokers under which participating states will accept a standardized and centralized licensing exam. This will make it less expensive for lenders who operate in multiple jurisdictions.

In that originators would be given a permanent license number, the registry also will be used to track unscrupulous brokers who tend to move to other places when they are flagged for bad deeds, apply for a new license and set out their shingles.

But the NAMB says that isn't good enough because the CSBS is nothing more than a private association. Any such clearinghouse should be run by a federal agency such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve Board or the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it maintains.

The group, which has chapters in every state and the District of Columbia, also wants the federal regulator to require every individual originator, not just mortgage brokers and their loan officers, be included in the system. In other words, it also would cover loan officers at banks and mortgage companies, including those who work for federally and state chartered institutions, credit unions and anyone else who makes or funds home loans.

The Mortgage Bankers Association is steadfastly against having to register loan officers who work for its member companies, saying it would be much too expensive and cumbersome.

Mortgage brokers originate mortgages -- about half of all such loans, according to most estimates -- while mortgage bankers actually fund them. However, many bankers also have origination staffs who are known largely as loan officers or representatives as opposed to brokers.

Under NAMB's proposal, every originator no matter who he or she works for would pay a fee to be in the registry. The money would be used to cover operational costs, create funds earmarked for state enforcement of mortgage laws and assist in on-going consumer financial literacy programs.

NAMB believes that individuals should be held accountable for their behavior. If a mortgage originator is found guilty of bad behavior, he or she should be booted from the business permanently, it says. That way, the so-called "bad actors" would be unable to move within the mortgage community at will.

"Without a focus on individual accountability, we can never truly have consumer protection. Individuals harm consumers not companies," NAMB President Dinham says. "The purpose of this registry is to establish a consequence for bad actions. Mortgage originators must have something to lose if they act unethically."

Published: June 13, 2007

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.