FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery Receives National Housing Award at Lenders One...

FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery Receives National Housing Award at Lenders One Winter Conference

Top federal housing official recognized for ongoing efforts in
modernizing FHA
ST. LOUIS--(Business Wire)--
Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, a national alliance of mortgage
bankers, recently awarded Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal
Housing Commissioner, Brian Montgomery, with the annual Lenders One
Hero for Housing Award for his efforts on behalf of American
homeowners at a challenging time in the housing market.

On February 13, President George W. Bush signed economic stimulus
legislation, which includes significant new tools to assist homeowners
obtain federally-backed mortgages. Montgomery oversees the Federal
Housing Administration (FHA), an agency, which received an expanded
role under the new law.

Commissioner Montgomery addressed members of Lenders One about the
federal response to the challenges the mortgage and housing industries
face at the Lenders One Bi-Annual Conference held recently in Tucson,
Arizona.

"For Lenders One, and the homebuyers served by our members, there
is no more critical position in the federal government than the
position of FHA commissioner," said Scott Stern, CEO, Lenders One.
"Let me simply say that Commissioner Montgomery has been the most
effective head of FHA in a very long time," he added. "We are inches
from the goal line of recreating a modern FHA--one that can serve a
new generation of homeowners with lower cost and lower risk loan
products."

The cooperative met with Commissioner Montgomery 18 months ago to
discuss his focus on modernizing FHA. The meeting spawned an effort to
address the failures of the mortgage market during the past year. As a
result, the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate passed an FHA
Modernization Bill, a bill that allows increases in FHA loan limits.

Lenders One's membership consists of dedicated FHA lenders. During
the recent FHA market share decline to 3 percent, the membership
maintained 10, 15 or 20 percent of its volume in FHA loans.
Collectively, the membership lends approximately $10 billion in FHA
insured loans annually.

About Lenders One

Lenders One is a national alliance of mortgage bankers which was
established in 2000 and is based in St. Louis, Mo. With more than 100
members originating $40 billion in mortgage loans annually, the
Lenders One alliance ranks as the ninth largest mortgage originator in
the United States. Lenders One leverages its aggregate buying power
and preferred-investor relationships to negotiate better lending
terms, provide premium business services at reduced costs and offer
ongoing seminar training through Lenders One University. For more
information about membership, contact Tim Stern 866.728.5678 or visit
www.lendersone.com.

For Lenders One
Charlyne H. McWilliams, 301-933-5567
or
Will Davison, 240-242-4041

Copyright Business Wire 2008