Media Alert: Jan. 10, 2013

UMD-Smith Finance Expert Cliff Rossi Comments on
New Mortgage Lending Rules

Cliff Rossi, Tyser Teaching Fellow and executive-in-residence at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, is available to comment on new home lending regulations set forth by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The bureau's “Ability to Pay” rule is designed to assure the reliability of mortgages. It addresses portions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act focused on consumer ability to repay home loans.

“This is probably one of the most significant policies to affect the housing market in decades and much anticipated by the industry for quite some time,” says Rossi. “It will affect who gets a mortgage, how much it will cost and eventually -- if there are problems with the loan over time -- what legal recourse the borrower has.”

Rossi, who has held senior risk management positions at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, more recently was Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer for Citigroup’s Consumer Lending Group (Read his bio). Contact him at 301-908-2536 or crossi@rhsmith.umd.edu.

About the Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, MS in business, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.