NAMB Conference 2023 – What to expect

Coinciding with its 50th anniversary, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) is poised to stage its annual conference in Las Vegas next month.

The milestone is likely to add a note of celebration to the annual conference Sept. 8-11. The event will host thousands of attendees, organizers said, including members, educators, government officials and industry partners.

“NAMB National will be our platform to highlight the organization’s achievements with so many  people that helped elevate NAMB as the only entity ensuring the growth of the marketplace for the past 50 years,” NAMB’s president, Ernest Jones Jr., said.

A more ambitious iteration

The gathering this year is more ambitious than past iterations, as NAMB will host the International Mortgage Brokers Federation (IMBF) for the Inaugural World Summit. Between 40-50 mortgage professionals from across the world will be in attendance from the US, Australia, Ireland, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

“This year’s IMBF world summit is another example of how NAMB uses innovation to elevate the entire marketplace and we are thrilled to bring together global leaders to NAMB National, for the first time, as part of our continued commitment to connecting people across the world which helps to ensure the positive growth of the global marketplace,” Jones said.

Panel discussions and keynote speeches covering the breadth of issues are slated, among them:

• Wholesale Lending 2024, during which panelists will discuss current and future changes ahead for mortgage brokers. Among the areas of discussion slated are artificial intelligence, pricing tools and strategy, operational services and innovative new lending products. The scheduled panelists are Mike Fawaz, executive vice president of wholesale at Rocket Pro TPO; Keith Lind, CEO of Acra Lending and Kim Nichols, senior managing director at Pennymac TPO.
• Barry Habib, CEO of Highway.ai will describe several steps to ensure success, including how to make more money now; gaining market share; buying now versus waiting; turning realtor challenges into opportunities; solving clients’ reluctance to give up low rate and move up; and overcoming buyers’ hesitancy to pay over ask.
• Dominate with Video in 2023 will showcase a five-step process for creating content that gets results. Neel Dhingra, CEO of Forward Academy, will explain how to create engaging video content that results in business.
• Michael Kent, president of Liberty Home Equity Solutions Inc., is slated to discuss reverse mortgage. According to his bio, Kent has held executive positions in operations, loan origination and capital markets.
• Anthony Balsamo, co-founder of mortgage industry website provider BVonkDigital.com, will help break down some content marketing strategies that can be deployed to start generating lads and tools in today’s market.
• Acra Lending CEO Keith Lind, managing director of strategy Greg Meola and senior vice president/regional sales manager Ryan Barrus will discuss the dos and don’ts in growing a business in the current market.
• Nora Guerra, senior affordable lending manager at Freddie Mac will explore solutions that address housing shortages, buyer migration, and technological influences. She is slated to outline strategies to navigate issues successfully.
• Carl White, of Mortgage Marketing Animals, will reveal a new twist on the open house strategy he’s used to close 100s of deals without ever actually going to an open house or working on the weekends. He also plans to discuss “the one thing” that helps achieve a closing rate of 79% on leads.
• Jeff Markowitz, Freddie Mac’s deputy CAO and senior vice president of external affairs and corporate communications, plans to discuss the mission of Freddie Mac and the GSE’s priorities.
• Chris Johnston, of Motto Mortgage, is slated to discuss the transformative power of artificial intelligence in the mortgage industry. Johnson will discuss the ways AI is changing the world and how to leverage those changes to grow a mortgage business.

Vegas or bust

Jones said the organization is eager to host attendees next month.

“Our entire organization is overjoyed to share our golden anniversary with our esteemed members, industry partners, legislative colleagues, homebuyers, the entire mortgage marketplace, and the nation,” he said. “As we celebrate this magnificent milestone of service we are also energized for the next 50 years for which NAMB will stand firmly to always find innovative ways to improve the industry each and every one of us loves and respects so very much.”