NAHREP Congratulates Rodrigo Lopez for His Historic Appointment by the MBA Board

Washington, DC – October 26, 2016 – The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) congratulates the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and Rodrigo Lopez for his appointment as their 2017 chairman. As the first Latino in the MBA’s 100-year history to hold this prestigious position, Mr. Lopez will lead an organization which represents over 2,200 member companies throughout the real estate finance industry. Lopez has been an active member of the MBA for the last three decades and has served on numerous boards, advisory boards and committees focused on creating a positive and competitive business environment for the real estate finance industry. Sworn in on Sunday during the MBA Annual Convention and Expo opening ceremony, Lopez pledged to uphold the MBA’s mission to promote fair, responsible, and sustainable mortgage practices through both education and advocacy, for the benefit of industry professionals and the families whom they represent.

As the most recent chairman of MBA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Lopez worked to advocate for underrepresented facets of the population in order to foster inclusiveness, creativity, and economic growth within the industry.

“Rodrigo Lopez represents the best of both our industry and the Hispanic community in the United States,” said Gary Acosta, CEO and Co-Founder of NAHREP.  “NAHREP supports the MBA and Rodrigo Lopez in their efforts to improve and diversify the real estate finance industry and is committed to assisting in every way possible.”

This historic milestone comes at a pivotal time for the Latino community, as Hispanic homeownership has been growing while homeownership among the general population continues a twelve-year decline. According to NAHREP’s 2015 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report (SHHR), Hispanic families represent 52 percent of new households over the last 15 years. However, access to affordable mortgage credit remains a primary barrier to Hispanic homeownership growth. These numbers are especially important considering that Hispanics are poised to add as many as 5.7 million additional homeowners over the next decade.