Mortgage industry reacts to Pulte’s absence at MBA Annual

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte canceled his planned appearance at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s annual convention earlier this week, leaving mortgage industry leaders without a scheduled opportunity to hear directly from the regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pulte was originally slated to attend the conference for an in-person, on-stage session on Monday during the trade association’s Annual Convention and Expo in Chicago. On Sunday, Pulte took to social media to say that his session was being changed to a virtual appearance. The MBA sent out a notice to attendees, saying that the virtual appearance would be rescheduled for Tuesday. By Monday, however, reports circulated that Pulte had canceled altogether. MBA did not issue a formal cancellation notice but confirmed the news to HousingWire at 4:50 p.m. ET. This was not the first time Pulte changed a planned visit to a high-profile mortgage industry event. In 2025, he shifted a scheduled in-person appearance at the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) Fuse conference to a virtual appearance. In a statement shared with HousingWire, an MBA spokesperson said the asso...