The primary day of this yr’s Nationwide Reverse Mortgage Lenders Affiliation (NRMLA) Annual Assembly and Expo in San Diego wound down with an announcement that marks the top of an period.
The affiliation honored two of its most outstanding previous and current members with distinguished service awards. These got to Peter Bell, NRMLA’s present CEO and former president, and Scott Norman, its former co-chair and present CEO of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Affiliation (TMBA).
Notably, Bell additionally introduced that he will likely be retiring from the affiliation, though he’ll proceed to work on points associated to reasonably priced housing.
NRMLA will likely be separating from Bell’s affiliation administration firm, Dworbell Inc., as a part of the transition and can proceed working independently of it.
4 workers of NRMLA will turn into workers of legislation agency Weiner Brodsky Kider, which is able to proceed serving because the affiliation’s exterior normal counsel and can now present administrative help companies. NRMLA will proceed to function beneath the supervision and route of its board of administrators.
Bell, who has had a profession in or close to housing coverage since 1976, has been concerned with reverse mortgages in a technique or one other for the reason that Residence Fairness Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program’s inception. In a 2020 interview, Bell instructed HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Day by day (RMD) that he was within the room “on the day in 1987 of the mark-up of the invoice that created the HECM program.”
He was instrumental in founding NRMLA within the Nineteen Nineties, and he has served within the twin function of president and CEO for a lot of the affiliation’s existence. He was within the Oval Workplace with President Barack Obama and then-U.S. Division of Housing and City Growth (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan when the president signed the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013 into legislation.
In 2019, Bell stepped down from the president’s function at NRMLA, handing it off to Steve Irwin. He has remained as CEO since then however will step down efficient Sept. 30.
Bell made the announcement on the occasion stage subsequent to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Julia Gordon, whom he had simply interviewed.
“After 28 years of representing the reverse mortgage business and being engaged in all points of the business’s points, I made a decision to step down from being CEO to focus my very own time on the opposite aspect of my enterprise, which is the reasonably priced housing business,” Bell instructed RMD in San Diego.
“I’ve solely been within the reverse mortgage business for 28 years, however I’ve been within the reasonably priced housing business for 48 years, and I felt it was time for me to make that the middle of my focus throughout my remaining working years.”
Throughout the affiliation’s enterprise assembly, Bell was acknowledged with a distinguished service award for his key function in founding and serving NRMLA. One other distinguished service award was given to Norman, who served NRMLA in varied capacities over time, most not too long ago as co-chair of its board of administrators.
Norman stepped down from his function at reverse lender Finance of America and NRMLA earlier this yr when he was employed as CEO of TMBA.
When requested in regards to the recognition he obtained, Norman stated he was humbled.
“My first reverse mortgage convention was nearly 25 years in the past to the day,” Norman stated. “And I’ve had nice mentors and developed nice friendships. It’s been an actual a part of my life for 25 years, and I used to be very lucky to start out with Jim Mahoney and finish with Kristen Sieffert.
“Alongside the best way, I bought to know the Peter Bells and the Steve Irwins, the Joe DeMarkeys and Mike Kents. A lot of my private {and professional} life has been related to NRMLA, and to be acknowledged was extremely humbling and a bit emotional too.”
Norman additionally weighed in on Bell’s retirement, calling him an important mentor within the house.
“He invited me to my very first convention 25 years in the past — in Naples, Florida, in November of 1999,” Norman stated. “It’s considerably bittersweet as a result of I understand how a lot effort and time he’s put into this business, and the concept of defending seniors whereas permitting them to make the most of their very own residence fairness for retirement.”
