OPENING GENERAL SESSION: Making Tough Decisions — Leadership, Capital, and the Fed

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.

Christine Chandler

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