WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Thursday called mortgage intermediaries a big problem, and said he will work to make sure they are better educated and trained.
Obama made the comments during a visit to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the mortgage market, to announce that he would make sure the housing finance industry continues to be staffed with people with expertise in the field.
Obama said that since he took office, the federal government has made it a priority to recruit and train more people with relevant experience in the mortgage lending industry.
“That’s why I’ve focused so much on the mortgage finance industry.
It’s a big, big problem,” Obama said.
“And I know that the mortgage loan servicers who are making money in the market are very good at what they do, but I’m going to make it a big priority for us to keep hiring them.”
He also called on Congress to make mortgage servicing more efficient and to improve training and supervision for the industry.
The president said that he wants to make the mortgage servicing industry more competitive, but he added that he will take “the right actions” to address the problems posed by mortgage loan intermediaries.
The administration said it is making changes to the loan origination process that will improve the accuracy and reliability of mortgage loans.
It also announced that it is creating a new agency that will oversee the mortgage industry.
