GENERAL SESSION: View From the Federal Reserve

Chief Economist, Senior Vice President, Research and Business Development, Mortgage Bankers Association

Mike Fratantoni, Ph.D., is MBA’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research and Industry/ Technology. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing MBA’s industry surveys, benchmarking studies, economic and mortgage originations forecasts, industry technology efforts, and policy development research for both single-family and commercial/multifamily markets. Additionally, Fratantoni is president and member of the Board of Directors of MISMO and serves on the CSP’s Industry Advisory Group and the membership committee of MERS. Prior to joining MBA, Fratantoni worked in the industry in risk management and senior economist roles at Washington Mutual and Fannie Mae.

2024 MBA Chairman; President, Union Home Mortgage

Mark Jones is the 2024 MBA Chairman and President of Union Home Mortgage. Mark co-founded Amerifirst Home Mortgage in 1983, a company he grew from an individual location in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to over 80 full-service locations and 900 personnel nationwide. In January 2023, Amerifirst merged with Union Home Mortgage to form a top 40 national mortgage lender, where Mark now serves as President. Prior to the merger, Amerifirst was the No. 1 USDA lender and the No. 3 FHA lender in Michigan, and the No. 13 FHA lender in Florida. Amerifirst was also a Ginnie Mae issuer and serviced in-house a $6 billion loan portfolio. Amerifirst ranked as a Best and Brightest Company to Work for in the Nation for five consecutive years (2016-2020) and was named one of the top 50 Best Mortgage Companies to Work For in 2021. In 2016 Mark received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Michigan and Northwest Ohio. In addition to his service as MBA’s Chairman-Elect, Mark currently serves as Chairman of MBA’s DEI Advisory Committee. He previously served as co-chair of MBA’s Independent Mortgage Bankers Executive Council. Mark also serves as board member and Public Policy Committee Chair at Southwest Michigan First and serves as Chair of Southwest Michigan First PAC.

Vice Chair, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Philip N. Jefferson took office as the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on September 13, 2023, for a four-year term. Dr. Jefferson has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System since taking office on May 23, 2022, to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2036. Most recently, Dr. Jefferson was vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty and the Paul B. Freeland Professor of Economics at Davidson College. Before then, Dr. Jefferson served as chair of the Department of Economics at Swarthmore College, where he was the Centennial Professor of Economics. Prior to this position, Dr. Jefferson was an economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Dr. Jefferson’s other past roles include being president of the National Economic Association. He also served on the Vassar College Board of Trustees and the Board of Advisors of the Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Dr. Jefferson received a BA in economics from Vassar College and an MA and a PhD in economics from the University of Virginia.