Mortgage Brokers Spend Big on Lobbying

With Brokers under increasing scrutiny over their role in the housing crisis, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) reported that the organization spent more than $480,000 lobbying in the first quarter.

The report comes as Congress and federal agencies weigh up new regulations on the industry, which mortgage brokers believe places an unnecessary amount of emphasis on their business practices. They believe new regulations on the industry should apply equally to other players, such as banks.

CNN reports that NAMB has been vigorously lobbying on a bill passed by the House last year. The bill would require all states to participate in a licensing system and would mandate criminal background checks on al parties involved in selling home loans.

NAMB also lobbied the Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Treasury Department, the White House budget office and the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the first quarter of the year.