Advocacy group also adds compliance and regulatory advisory council
The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, a recently formed organization, has announced its new senior vice president of legislative and government affairs and added a compliance and regulatory advisory council.
John L. Councilman, a mortgage industry veteran and former president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, will take on the VP position. Over 30 years ago, Councilman started one of the first secondary-market mortgage brokerages in Maryland. A founding member of that state association, he rewrote Maryland’s mortgage law, passed loan originator licensing legislation and authored its appraisal management law. His accolades include Maryland Mortgage Broker of the Year in 1998 and 1999 and National Mortgage Broker of the Year in 2009 and 2010. Councilman served as NAMB president from 2014 to 2015.
"Filling out these leadership positions is a major initial step in fortifying AIME as a strong, high-powered organization for independent mortgage professionals," said Anthony Casa, AIME founder. "We're not a fledgling startup. AIME has some of the top legal and compliance minds from some of the biggest players in the wholesale industry and will shine as the premier membership organization for mortgage experts."
AIME selected seven people to serve as members of its Compliance & Regulatory Advisory Council, which will guide the organization on industry topics and initiatives, as well as assist members with compliance-related topics. The council appointees are:
- Michael Barone, managing partner, Abrams, Garfinkel, Margolis, Bergson, LLP
- Matthew Cronin, vice president of regulatory compliance, Flagstar Bank
- Ronald Gapp, general counsel and compliance officer, PRMG
- G. Bradley Hargrave, shareholder, Medlin & Hargrave
- Jeffrey Midbo, SVP, deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer, United Wholesale Mortgage
- Bonnie S. Nachamie, partner, Bonnie S. Nachamie, P.C.
- Wayne A. Watkinson, principal, Offit, Kurman
Launched in February, AIME supports independent mortgage experts – brokers, loan originators and processors whose companies do not underwrite their own loans.
The organization will work to boost the wholesale channel beyond a 20% share of the mortgage market by 2020. Part of that strategy is consumer-focused. AIME plans to implement an aggressive campaign to rebrand mortgage brokers as “mortgage advisors” in the public eye. The campaign will target homebuyers, realtors, builders, financial advisors and real estate attorneys to advocate for independent mortgage experts.
