OPENING GENERAL SESSION: Economic Point-Counterpoint

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.

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.

Managing Director and Corporate Executive, Freedom Mortgage Corporation

Greg Middleman serves as managing director of Freedom Mortgage. He leads Third-Party Origination, overseeing the Correspondent and Wholesale Lending divisions. Within Correspondent Lending, he has transformed and scaled operations rapidly, growing the channel’s monthly volume from $1 billion to $12 billion within several months last year. He manages the relationships of more than 500 clients, including some of the largest banks, independent mortgage banks, and builder-owned mortgage companies in the country. In Wholesale Lending, Middleman directs one of the largest broker-driven platforms in the industry. He has expanded the company’s broker network, strengthened technology and operational infrastructure, and positioned the division as a growth engine by deepening broker partnerships, optimizing pricing strategies, and driving best-in-class service levels. His leadership has reinforced Freedom Mortgage’s role as a leading partner to mortgage brokers nationwide. Middleman also oversees the Freedom Mortgage Exchange Platform, which connects Mortgage Servicing Right (MSR) sellers with buyers in an easy-to-navigate portal. Before that, he founded a technology company called Xpanse, which has built several platforms used by Freedom Mortgage and other originators, servicers, and vendors within the mortgage industry.

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 Chief Operating Officer and has overseen credit, asset management, compliance, technology and transformation. 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 served on MBA’s Audit Committee. 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.

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.

Vice Chairman, IBM; Director, White House National Economic Council (2017-2018); President & COO, Goldman Sachs (2006-2016)

Gary D. Cohn, a business leader, investor, and the former director of the U.S. National Economic Council, is an internationally recognized expert on the financial markets, global economy and economic policy. He is the Vice Chairman of IBM, working in partnership with IBM’s Executive Leadership Team. Mr. Cohn served as Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council from 2017-2018, where he managed the administration’s economic policy agenda and led the successful effort to grow the U.S. economy, create jobs and increase wages through tax and regulatory reform. Before serving in the White House, Cohn was President and Chief Operating Officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from 2006-2016, after holding several other leadership roles with the company since 1990. Cohn began his career at U.S. Steel before moving to New York to trade on the New York Commodities Exchange from 1982-1990. He is Lead Independent Director of the Apollo Board of Directors, Chairman of Pallas Advisors, Vice Chair of Zinnia, and serves on many other private corporate boards. Additionally, he is a member of the Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Mr. Cohn has long been dedicated to advancing healthcare and education and serves on several related boards. After growing up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Mr. Cohn received his undergraduate degree from American University in 1982 and moved to New York City.