Among the nation’s trade associations focused on the real estate finance world, the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers (NAMMBA) stands out for having the primary goal of creating and maintaining a profession that resembles the customer base in the marketplace.

“NAMMBA is a purpose-driven organization that is dedicated to the inclusion of minorities and women in the mortgage industry who are advocates for sustainable homeownership in local communities,” says the organization in its mission statement.
The driving force behind NAMMBA is Tony Thompson, CMB, a longtime mortgage industry executive who launched this organization in 2016. In the past three years, NAMMBA has seen its visibility enhanced as the industry seeks to diversify its employee base–an especially crucial consideration when one realizes that the average age of a loan originator is 54 and there is no great new wave of young talent coming in to carry on the work when today’s originators become tomorrow’s retirees.
Last year, NAMMBA announced a formal strategic partnership with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) to collaborate on certain conferences and meetings and to produce industry advocacy and research designed to further a diverse workforce, including recruitment and professional development scholarships. MBA also offered a discount to NAMMBA members on their purchases of qualified MBA products, including many MBA Education offerings. NAMMBA also signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Association of Women in Real Estate Business (NAWRB) to create a new collaborative initiative aimed at making the industry more diverse and inclusive.
“The real estate finance industry must continue to enhance diversity and inclusion in order to retain and recruit the best workforce possible,” said David H. Stevens, then-president and CEO of the MBA, in announcing his organizations support of Thompson’s goals. “Our industry helps individuals and families achieve the American dream; we have to make sure that dream is available to everyone, and that our workforce reflects the customer base we serve.”
For this edition, we spoke with Tony regarding his work with NAMMBA and his goals of changing the mortgage profession for the better.

Did you always focus on a career in the mortgage industry, or did this come about in an unexpected way?
Tony Thompson: Like a lot of people, I happened to fall into the mortgage industry. My original career was in human resources, but ultimately I found my way into the mortgage industry as a loan originator at Bank of America and worked my way up to area regional manager.

How did NAMMBA come about?
Tony Thompson: As I traveled across the country to attend various conferences and association meetings, I recognized a lack of women, minorities and young people in the room. I heard from other originators in the market that they were always talking about wishing there was an organization that would help to grow and develop the mortgage profession.
Our goal in creating this association is to provide professional training and education and professional development for all, enabling them to grow their careers and businesses. We realize there is a tremendous need for this–at every conference I attend, I hear about how there is a need to bring more young people into the industry.
It is not every day that someone starts a trade association from scratch. How did you learn to do this?
Tony Thompson: I am learning as I go. It started with an idea in 2016 with messages on LinkedIn and social media. We had 350 people show up for our first conference, and word started to spread. We began to open different chapters, and now have more than 25 chapters and 2,500-plus members.
To read National Mortgage Professional’s full article, click here.

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