Dr. Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) since 2008, will be retiring in early 2014, the MBA announced.
Brinkmann began his career as a Capitol Hill press secretary and served as the deputy chief of staff to Louisiana Gov. David Treen. He was in commercial banking in Louisiana and was on the finance faculty of the University of Houston business school before joining the credit pricing and portfolio strategy groups at Fannie Mae.
In addition to serving as chief economist for the MBA, he is the senior vice president for the association's research and education groups, has responsibility for the industry information standards organization MISMO, and is the trustee of MBA's Research Institute for Housing America. In June, he was elected to the executive committee of the International Union of Housing Finance.
‘Having the opportunity to work for the mortgage industry through all of the changes of the last 13 years – not to mention becoming MBA's chief economist at the onset of the recession – has been a tremendous but exhausting experience,’ says Brinkmann in a statement. ‘My wife Nancy and I own an historic old home in New Orleans, and we have decided that the time has come to relocate down there on a more full-time basis to be closer to family, especially our new grandson, and to see if we still remember how properly to boil a pot of crawfish. I am looking forward to seeing what it is like to trade the sturm und drang of daily life in Washington for the luxury of reading the Wall Street Journal on my front porch while the streetcars roll by.
‘I want to thank three people who have been my principal deputies for most of the time I have been here: Marina Walsh, Jamie Woodwell and Mike Fratantoni,’ adds Brinkmann. ‘Each has expertise that is of tremendous value to the industry, and their hard work has made my job immensely easier. I also want to say what a great pleasure it has been to work with Dave Stevens [president and CEO of the MBA] since he arrived on the scene. His energy, insights into the mortgage business, and access to the highest levels of government and our member companies have gone a long way to restoring the reputation and effectiveness of the MBA in working on behalf of our members.’
Stevens says Brinkmann's ‘knowledge and experience have gained him a well-earned reputation in the industry and in Washington."
‘We at the MBA will miss his many contributions, as well as his humor,’ Stevens says. ‘Something tells me that he will not be sitting on his New Orleans porch watching streetcars for long and that we will see him back involved in the industry in some capacity.’
Stevens says he expects the MBA will be announcing Brinkmann's successor in a few weeks.
