History of The Mortgage Bankers Association of Puerto Rico, Inc. (MBA)
Mr. Roger Wall, president of Housing Investment Corporation (subsidiary of The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A.), committed his vicepresident Alberto R. Ortiz (Tito), to dedicate the necessary time and resources of Housing Investment Corporation to achieve, with other members of the mortgage banking industry, the creation of the MBA of Puerto Rico. Wall was of the opinion that "if we set aside competitive jealousness and join efforts, we can develop ideas of mutual benefit and promote them more effectively, as an industry, to face the serious problems we encounter presently and be better prepared to meet those in the future."
The recently inaugurated Century Club, sponsored by Housing Investment Corporation, was the site where Tito Ortiz presented the idea to the executive officers of the main mortgage institutions at that time. The Association was founded with the support of the following executives: Roger Wall, Tito Ortiz, David Álvarez, and Jesús (Manolín) Rodríguez, from Housing Investment Corporation; Churchill Carey and Wilfredo Morales, from International Charter Mortgage; José A. (Tony) Torres, from Lawrence P. Epter; Art Cavanagh and Bessie Figueroa, from MGIC.
The first Board of Governors was constituted as follows:
- Alberto (Tito) Ortiz, President
- Frank Santaella, 1st Vice President
- Churchill Carey, Jr., 2nd Vice President
- José A. (Tony) Torres, Secretary - Treasurer
Governors:
- Eugenio (Geño) Santoni
- Reinaldo Agostini
- Jenaro Baquero
- Rudolph Jurgensen
- Ramón Figueroa
- Juan Padín
- Thelma Paz
The first official effort was a publicity campaign promoting housing ownership, together with other organizations, which was very succesful and served to unite for the first time in a common goal all the housing industry associations.
Another significant step, under the presidency of Mrs. Ana Rodríguez, the Mortgage Bankers School of Puerto Rico, Inc. (MBS), (wholly owned subsidiary of the MBA) was created on September 30, 1986. Details of the MBS may be found on this same web site.
On June 7, 2001, the MBA officially inaugurated a building which construction was finished in that same month under the presidency of Mr. Ricardo Domenech, and which houses the offices and mortgage banking school.
Mba Building Construction History
During year 1993, the Board of Directors of the Mortgage Bankers School (MBS) discussed the idea of either renting or purchasing an existing building to be used as the School of Mortgage Banking. At a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Board meeting on August 12, 1993 - Gov. Felipe Franco notified about the approval by the Mortgage Bankers School of a Fund of $100,000 pro construction of a school, and the assignment of a tuition fee of $25 per student, for the construction.
At a Mortgage Bankers Association Board meeting on September 9, 1993 - Mr. Felipe Franco, reporting on behalf and as member of a committee composed of Mrs. Zoila Levis, and messrs. Ramón Prats, José A. (Tony) Torres, Iván Canino, Wilfredo Morales, reported the commencement of a search for a site for the offices of the MBA and the School. President Salomon Levis proposed the creation of a Building Fund out of the assets of MBA. Gov. Víctor J. Galán suggested the sale of bonds to finance the proyect.
Various alternatives were considered, but all were turned down as unsatisfactory. On January 13, 1994 - Gov. José A. Torres notified about the alternative to buy a school building, for $1,200,000. It seemed that the search was finished but later on the purchase option was cancelled.
On January 18, 1996 - Gov. Felipe Franco reported that he had been coordinating the acquisition of a former restaurant, La Toja. Gov. Ramón Prats supported the idea, and president José A. (Tony) Torres indicated that he was determined to find the location within his presidency.
Under the presidency of Mr. José A. (Tony) Torres, in a Board Meeting on April 11, 1996, authorization was granted to the Executive Director to obtain a land lot, with a structure to be demolished, (La Toja), at a price of $325,000, from Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, and to finance its acquisition.
July 26, 1996 - President Felipe Franco designated Gov. Ricardo Domenech as president of the Construction Committee. October 3, 1996 - Ricardo Domenech presented his recommendations to acquire and finance the acquisition of La Toja. On October 23, 1996, the property was acquired.
From there on, Gov. Ricardo Domenech, representing the Association, hired architect Raúl Zurinaga to design the structure to house the office of the MBA and the School. On April 17, 1997 the construction design was approved. Bids were obtained but the Board opted to look for lower construction contracts.
La Toja structure was demolished in August 1998. On January 21, 1999, President Ramón Prats indicated that the MBA would be in a financial position to construct its building in a period of 2 years. On March 18, 1999, two classrooms were approved to be added to the design.
On April 13, 2000, president Ramón Prats recommended granting the construction contract to the builder that originally quoted the lowest bid, although at a revised figure. Construction was initiated in June 2000 under the presidency of Ricardo Domenech, who named Felipe Franco as president of the Construction Committee. Construction supervisor was Eng. José F. Quiñones.
The construction committee consisted of the following persons:
| Felipe Franco |
Ricardo Domenech |
| Acisclo Bou |
Alberto Rosado |
| Enrique Umpierre |
Víctor C. Rivera |
On June 7, 2001, the structure that houses the offices of the MBA and the Mortgage Banking School was inaugurated. The Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBAA) was represented by Mr. John A. Courson, Vice President-elect, who presented the Presidential Award of MBAA to the MBA of PR, and Mr. Gerald A. Aust, Senior Director of the State and Local Division.
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MBS History
