OPENING GENERAL SESSION: Economic Point-Counterpoint

Robert D. Broeksmit, CMB

President & Chief Executive Officer, Mortgage Bankers Association

Robert D. Broeksmit, CMB, is MBA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. He is a senior finance executive and corporate officer with over 35 years of experience in the mortgage sector. He has directed all aspects of lending activities, including marketing, sales, operations, secondary marketing, loan servicing, and default management. He has also served as a mortgage underwriting expert testifying on many large, high-profile cases. Prior to joining MBA, Broeksmit served as President and Chief Operating Officer with Treliant, heading the firm’s mortgage litigation support practice. He previously held senior leadership positions in the mortgage business, including 14 years with Chevy Chase Bank (including after its purchase by Capital One) and 7 years as Vice President at Prudential Home Mortgage. He has overseen annual originations of $9 billion, a balance sheet of $10 billion in residential mortgage, and a servicing portfolio of $20 billion. He is past Chairman of MBA’s Residential Board of Governors and a member of its Board of Directors.

Laura Escobar

2025 MBA Chair; President, Lennar Mortgage

A 30-year mortgage industry veteran, Laura has held leadership positions with both bank-owned and independent mortgage companies overseeing all aspects of mortgage banking including production, operations, compliance, accounting and training. Her personal ground-level experience in every facet of mortgage lending has enabled her to manage and fully integrate all these departments within Lennar Mortgage. Escobar is also a licensed mental health counselor and devotes much of her time working with underprivileged women.

Christine Chandler

2026 MBA Chair; Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer & Chief Operating Officer, M&T Realty Capital Corporation

Christine Chandler has been with M&T since 1991 and has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate finance. Since 2018, she has been responsible for making credit decisions for M&T RCC multifamily and healthcare transactions underwritten in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Agency) and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) platforms as well as managing the company’s operations and its Asset Management Group and Transformation team. Prior to that, Chandler served 13 years as the M&T RCC Chief FHA Underwriter, was a senior Fannie Mae DUS Underwriter, and previously spent several years managing the closing and delivery for FHA and Ginnie Mae transactions. Chandler has also served as a relationship manager in the company’s commercial real estate division, focusing on construction and permanent portfolio lending. Active in various committees and groups related to the mortgage banking industry, Chandler is a voting member of MBA’s Board of Directors, served as the 2023 Chair of MBA’s Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors (COMBOG), and was appointed to MBA’s Audit Committee in 2021. She is a sought-after speaker at industry conferences and is a passionate advocate for mPower, MBA Promoting Opportunities for Women to Extend their Reach, the largest networking organization for women in real estate finance.

Mike Fratantoni, Ph.D.

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.

The Honorable Lawrence H. Summers

Secretary of the Treasury (1999-2001); Director, White House National Economic Council (2009-2010)

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is one of America’s leading economists. In addition to serving as 71st Secretary of the Treasury, Dr. Summers served as Director of the White House National Economic Council and as the Chief Economist of the World Bank. As one of President Obama’s chief economic advisors, Dr. Summers’ thinking helped shape the U.S. response to the 2008 financial crisis. Currently, Dr. Summers is the President Emeritus and the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University, where he became a full professor at age 28, one of the youngest in Harvard’s recent history. He directs the University’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. He has published more than 150 papers in scholarly journals, and has served on the boards of numerous non-profit and public policy organizations.

The Honorable Kevin Warsh

Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System (2006-2011); National Economic Council (2002-2006); Member of the Group of Thirty (G30); The Hoover Institution, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Monetary policy expert and economist Kevin Warsh served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2006-2011. Prior to his appointment to the Board, Warsh served as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Executive Secretary of the White House National Economic Council from 2002-2006. Warsh currently sits on several boards and is a member of the Group of Thirty (G30). He is also a Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Warsh’s deep expertise in the inner workings of major global financial institutions fuels his independent research and central banks often seek his advice. Previously, Warsh was a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Morgan Stanley and Co. in New York, serving as Vice President and Executive Director. Warsh received his A.B. from Stanford University, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.