The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) introduced its 2024 officers
during the organization’s 2023 convention and exposition in Philadelphia. The
association’s new chairman, Mark Jones, president of Union Home Mortgage and
founder of Amerifirst Home Mortgage, said he plans to make his top priority
will be affordable homeownership.
Jones was sworn in alongside 2024
MBA Chair-Elect and Lennar Mortgage President Laura Escobar and 2024 MBA Vice
Chair M&T Reality Capital Corp. Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer Christine Chandler (vice chair) during the opening general
session of the conference.
“I have been a proud part of
the MBA family for nearly four decades and am incredibly honored and ecstatic
to serve as the next chairman,” Jones said. “With the support of Laura Escobar
and Christine Chandler, I am confident that our industry will overcome the
current tough market environment. I am committed to promoting financial
literacy for young adults and focusing on advocacy initiatives that increase
housing supply and improve affordability in communities across America.”
Escobar is a 36-year real estate finance industry veteran
who has held leadership positions with both bank-owned and independent mortgage
companies overseeing all aspects of mortgage banking. Escobar serves on several
advisory boards and committees, including MBA’s 2022-2023 board of directors,
and as vice chair of MBA’s DEI Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the
MORPAC Steering Committee; Fannie Mae AHAC; Freddie Mac Advisory Board; NAHREP;
NAMMBA Visionary Ambassador; and United Way’s chapter – Women
United.
Chandler has been with M&T
since 1991 and has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate
finance. Since 2018, she has been responsible for making credit decisions for
M&T RCC multifamily and healthcare transactions underwritten in the Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac and FHA platforms as well as managing the company’s
operations and its Asset Management Group and Transformation team.
Jones co-founded Amerifirst in
1983 and oversaw its growth from a single location in Kalamazoo, Mich., to more
than 80 full-service locations and 900 personnel nationwide. In January 2023,
Amerifirst merged with Union Home Mortgage. Prior to its merger with Union Home
Mortgage, Amerifirst was the top USDA lender, ranked third in FHA lending in
Michigan, and ranked 13th in FHA lending in Florida.
Jones described how MBA’s help
was critical to his company’s survival during its formative years and through
the savings and loan crisis in the late 1980s. Amerifirst recently merged with
Union Home Mortgage as a strategic move given the tightening market conditions.
“Only fools started a mortgage business back then. At least,
that’s what a lot of my friends and family told me. It would almost be like
opening a Blockbuster video right now,” Jones said. “Honestly, one of the big
reasons we survived was the Mortgage Bankers Association. This organization
gave us the right insights at the right moment. And when I came to my first MBA
conference, I was hooked. I knew I’d always come back and be part of this
group.
“With MBA’s help, we weathered
that early storm. And we did it again when things turned south in the late
1980s, with the savings and loan crisis. Like today, none of us saw it coming.
But also like today, we all did what we had to do,” he added.