President's Message
Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season and was able to relax and recharge. Now is the time we focus on our goals and resolutions to make this year even better than the year before. I wanted to share with you some of my goals as your president in 2022. 

Provide Resources That Appeal to All Aspects of Our Industry 
This is a top priority of mine. The Iowa Mortgage Association is the best and most comprehensive resource for mortgage professionals in our state. However, I believe the perception is that it is only beneficial for the sales side of the business. While that is an extremely important aspect, I believe resources and trainings can be added to also help the growth of the operations side of our business. I will be working with our education committee and communication committee to work on ways to bring more value to our processors, underwriters and loan officer assistants.

Increase Membership
This seems like a no-brainer and is always a goal of our organization. In the past few years, we have seen many of our colleagues move to different companies or bring new companies to Iowa. These are untapped opportunities that all of us should be embracing. Our membership committee is hard at work on these but I believe everyone, regardless of whether you are on that committee, can help bring one new member into our organization. If you are going to an event, ask some peers at other companies if they are going as well. If they are not members, talk to them about the benefits or send them to me or anyone on our board and we would be happy to go through how the IMA can help them and their organization.

Increase Member Engagement
The past few years have been tough on all of us. Our Fall Conference was the first time many of us had been together as a group in two years. Now that we are (hopefully) going to see more in-person events, we want this to be an opportunity to network with your industry peers and learn and share best practices that can help shed light on the best parts of our business. The easiest way to be more engaged is to volunteer for one of our committees. We can never have too many people willing to help advance our priorities. Participation in local events as well as our statewide conferences are just a few additional ways to stay engaged throughout the year.

While these may be my goals, they can’t be accomplished by me alone. I hope all of you will join with me to make 2022 a year of great growth and success for the IMA!

Chuck Simmons
Motto Mortgage
Association Updates
Time to Renew Your IMA Membership
Now that it is 2022, it’s time to renew your Iowa Mortgage Association membership. By addressing current issues in government relations, public relations, professional development and more, the IMA connects the mortgage community through education and resources to promote homeownership. Please join the IMA for another successful year by renewing your membership today. Through membership in the IMA, you will receive:
  • Monthly updates through IMA Prime Times.
  • Discounts on registration fees on all IMA programs including the Annual Convention and Spring Conference.
  • Legislative efforts to strengthen the industry.
  • Industry information and association updates via the IMA website.
 
Membership renewals were emailed to the company main contact in early December. You can also renew your membership by contacting IMA’s Darcy Burnett.
2022 IMA Spring Conference
Mark the dates for the IMA's upcoming spring conference on April 5 in Coralville. This year’s event includes session on elevating your personal leadership and productivity, economic update, compliance, and more. The Spring Conference will also feature an exhibit hall and the popular mortgage production awards Additional details are available on the IMA website.
Presidents Club & Winners Circle Awards
The Iowa Mortgage Association's Winner’s Circle and President’s Club is an ongoing recognition program that recognizes outstanding mortgage loan production for 2021. Entries must be submitted by March 8. All members of the 2021 Winner’s Circle and President’s Club will be honored individually with awards at the IMA Spring Conference on April 5.

Recognition Levels and Additional Awards
  • Top producers (minimum loan origination eligibility is $18 million or 120 units of residential loan volume in 2021 for Winner’s Circle and $25 million or 180 units of residential loan volume in 2021 for President’s Club.)
  • Top total volume production from lender at a bank, credit union and mortgage company.
Industry News
Wastewater System Grants Available
Applications are now available for the Onsite Wastewater Systems in Unsewered Communities Grant Program. This new program will provide grants to eligible property owners residing in an unsewered community to repair or upgrade their septic system.

Eligibility
  • Property must be located in an unsewered community.
  • Property must have been constructed prior to July 1, 1983.
  • Properties that transferred ownership after July 1, 2009, are not eligible unless the transfer was exempt from time of transfer requirements.

To apply, property owners must work with their county sanitarian to determine eligibility and to complete the application. Applications will not be accepted directly from property owners. The program will remain open for applications until available funds are exhausted. Award amounts will be determined based on the scope of the project and program funding availability.
The program is jointly administered by the Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in collaboration with county sanitarians. The program is funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Learn more.
CFPB Flags Fair Lending and Servicing Issues
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s latest Supervisory Highlights report focuses on examiner observations of several financial products conducted between January and June of 2021. The CFPB flagged several areas where potential violations were observed, including mortgage servicing and fair lending.

Examiners noted several issues related to mortgage servicing, some of which were related to COVID-19 relief measures. Among other things, examiners observed failures to terminate preauthorized electronic funds transfers; misrepresenting loan transaction and payment history in online accounts; incorrectly handling partial payments; and failing to automatically terminate private mortgage insurance.

Turning to fair lending, the CFPB said it observed pricing discrimination among certain supervised firms that offered pricing exceptions based upon competitive offers from other institutions. Examiners "identified lenders with statistically significant disparities for the incidence of pricing exceptions for African American and female applications compared to similarly-situated non-Hispanic white and male borrowers," the report noted. "Furthermore, examiners noted that lenders failed to retain documentation to support pricing exceptions."
Published by Iowa Mortgage Association.