MBS Taking Back MISMO Management

The Mortgage Bankers Association has announced it will take back management of MISMO from MERS Corp effective December 1, 2011.

MISMO has always been a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of the MBA but, back in February 2009 during the depths of the financial crisis, the MBA transferred management of MISMO to MERS as a cost-cutting effort.

MERS has successfully managed MISMO, especially as it relates to adoption in the residential mortgage world. Now the MBA wants management back.

According to the MBA, the decision to take back MISMO management was driven largely by the success of MISMO in the residential business and the belief that MISMO standards will (or at least could) form the foundation of the anticipated new regulatory reporting requirements. Since the MBA has a strong government lobbying group, it felt it could do a better job convincing regulators to adopt MISMO standards, as opposed to having the government create new standards.

David Stevens, CEO of the MBA, stated in the press release (download press release here) that:

“Due to changes in the regulatory environment over the last two years, the benefit of implementing data standards across the real estate finance industry has never been greater. Significant new reporting requirements highlight the need for a common vocabulary and data exchange mechanism. The continued enhancement of data standards and transparency are critical to the return of investor confidence and liquidity in our marketplace. MBA will continue to encourage regulators to adopt MISMO standards for regulatory reporting.”

The move suggests the MBA is betting regulators will demand XML reporting — and they want to strongly influence how this is done. If the MBA really throws its full support behind MISMO adoption, and the regulators embrace those standards, the bet may pay off.

— — —

Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.

www.cmbs.com