The National Association of Mortgage Brokers, beset with internal strife over much of the past year, seems to be regaining its footing.
Since last August, when its top executives began quitting, there have been worries that affiliated state associations would do the same.
It was also last August that members began debating whether headquarters should be moved, and what the group's objectives should be in a rate environment that's tough on brokers.
Internal discord nearly undermined years of efforts to raise the group's profile. Employees started looking for new jobs, and early this year rumors of the group's impending collapse were commonplace.
"There were a lot of people who wanted to predict our demise," said Patty K. McGill, the association's new president.
But a rebound seems to be under way. The group has completed the move of its headquarters from Phoenix to Washington and is once again concentrating on increasing the clout of mortgage brokers nationwide.
In the last six months, broker associations in three states - Tennessee, Alabama, and Kansas - have signed on. Thirty-five state associations are now affiliated, and regional subgroups will probably be created in the Northeast and the West, Ms. McGill said.
Association Management Group, Arlington, Va., has been hired as an administrator of the trade group, and a new executive director, Kay Kinney, has signed on.
"This last year was a period of transition," said Charles E. Eck, a former president of the group. All the changes amounted to "a pretty big bite to take for any organization."
Still, despite a weak lending market, membership is off only a moderate 7% since a year ago, to about 5,250, according to the association.
The rocky ride began when Michael J. Hoogendyk, longtime executive director, abruptly resigned.
Mr. Hoogendyk was largely responsible for years of membership growth. His departure left the group facing a difficult search for a replacement and uncertain about its future.
The search, supposed to take no more than six months, dragged on longer. Ms. Kinney was not appointed until June.
In the interim, for a brief stretch that began in early April, the group was run by a temporary executive director, Andrea Waas.
Ms. Waas had been the public affairs director at the National Funeral Directors Association. Her arrival at the broker group is said to have triggered the resignation soon after of the much-liked Mary J. Burt, vice president for government relations.
Still, most of the conflict within the trade group was over the idea of moving operations to Washington. Members split into two camps. The Washington camp won out.
Now it's back to business.
"My main thrust for the year," said Ms. McGill, the new president, "is getting the message of NAMB to the consumer." That message, she said, is to contact a mortgage broker first when looking for a mortgage.
In addition, Ms. McGill said, "we intend to grow a lot."
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In a sign of the times, the National Second Mortgage Association will change its name.
The Cucamonga, Calif.-based trade group will be known as the Nation Home Equity Mortgage Association as of Sept. 1.
As securitization and loan originations have grown among home equity lending in the last few years, more investment bankers, service providers, and securitizers have grown prominent in the industry - and joined the association, said Jeffrey L. Zeltzer, executive director.
The new name is intended to better reflect the mix of participants in the changing home equity lending market, he said.
