KEVIN CUFF
Title: President and Executive Director; Community Mortgage Lenders of America
Age: 48
Experience: 1 with CMLA; 10 working with mortgage lending industry
Kevin Cuff is a familiar name in these pages, thanks to almost a decade as executive director of the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association. After resigning that post two years ago, he’s been involving himself in regulatory affairs at the federal level, helping launch a new lobbying group for community bankers. But he’s also involving himself in political affairs at the state level: He’s a candidate for Massachusetts state representative in the 17th Essex legislative district for Andover, Lawrence and Methuen.
Q: So tell me a little bit about the Community Mortgage Bankers Association?
A: It was formed as an advocacy arm for Lenders One, and it grew with Lenders One, but what happened is that they wanted to focus on the advocacy effort entirely. So we separated out, formed our own corporate structure, formed a board of directors, hired a director, and started running federal affairs – statutory control, regulatory affairs.
Q: Did people just see Dodd-Frank coming down the pike and say, “I think we need someone on this 24-7?”
A: I think no matter who you are as a lender, there is enough room on that platform to pay attention to regulatory and statutory controls. There’s a lot of people doing it. On behalf of this group, particularly middle-market, small- to mid-size community bankers, they did not like the outlook that they perceived that that were getting from the National Mortgage Bankers Association, the national Bankers Association, that looked like it was more geared toward the big five, big ten depository companies. So where did that leave community guys? And with that in mind, most of the controls that we work on are geared toward the support for that sector. And we came about maybe two, three years ago, and it’s been a strict advocacy effort for a little over a year. As a division of Lenders One, it didn’t work the way the members wanted it to work, and now for the last year, 18 months, it’s been working much more effectively.
Q: You must relish being busy, because you have something coming up in November yourself, do you not?
A: I do, I do. I’ve kept them as separate as possible, but I have an opportunity in my town to apply a unique set of skills I’ve developed over 25 years, to apply it to the management of the government. With regards to my day job, I think I could have a significant impact, by way of being a prudent voice in government that understands the overall financial services marketplace, and its impact on our economy. That is not an insignificant element. The legislature is fraught with attorneys and insurance people. But you don’t have a lot of people that come from a financial services and/or community-based banking background. I hope that I have an opportunity to be that built-in advocate on behalf of industries such as community banking, financial services, health care. So there are elements of this that I can apply at a significantly higher level.
Q: But do you feel like that’s an easy message to get out to the general public?
A: Obviously, all of my friends in the banking and mortgage banking world, they get it. That is an element to it that I’ve networked in my legislative district. But it’s not – I’m an advocate, first and foremost. I don’t come from a banking background, I don’t come from a lending background. So my message to those people that draw a conclusion based on my representing of the banking industry or the lending industry – we all serve a special interest. If there weren’t special interests in the legislative process there’d be no interests.
Having said that, many of the communities [in the district] are low- to moderate-income, are newer immigrants, and my background with understanding those communities and helping them get access to lending product, I think is significant. Homeownership and the building of communities is still the gateway to the American dream. And I believe that my understanding of that process, particularly for those affected groups – I think that plays a huge role in places like Lawrence, that have been devastated by the loss of real estate value, that have been devastated by the predatory lending that went on. So I understand both ends of it. So those two things colliding again – predatory lending, falling real estate values – ain’t gonna happen on my watch.
Q: At one time, you worked for [former Boston mayor] Ray Flynn. Did you always want to get into politics?
A:No, that was just by happenstance. I was an intern with my local state representative – Greg Sullivan, [the former] inspector general of the commonwealth – back in the 1980s, and I went to work as his legislative aid. I worked on the committees on banks and banking back when Tom Finneran was the chair. Greg Sullivan was the vice-chair. And I got my teeth cut in that realm. It got me introduced to the legislative process and the banking process. From there I got a graduate degree, and then I went to work for Ray Flynn. I did some state affairs for him, electioneering. From there I went to the chamber of commerce and did some lobbying, from there I went to medicine and surgery and I did some lobbying, from there I went to banking and lending and I did some lobbying. So uniquely after 25 years, there’s this collision of forces that I understand very, very well. I have done the job of an elected representative for 25 years, I just haven’t been elected to it. So now it’s that next step that will allow me to apply those same skill sets I’ve been applying for 25 years.
Q: You have a lot on your plate right now. Assuming you do go on to success in the race, how are you going to handle that?
A: The primary goal that I have right now is to manage the national association. And I have done that effectively. The other element of running for an office is something that I’ve been trying to manage within the community in which I live. Let’s sort of leave it at that: Never the two shall meet.
Q: I have to say, I still think it will be a challenge.
A: Well, the give and the take will be on the political side. It’s not on the professional side. There’s some bridges I’ll have to cross when I get to them….When we get into September, October, November, we’ll take it one day at a time. But I’m amazed sometimes at what politicians are willing to go through, things that they’re willing to tolerate, things that they’re willing to sacrifice, on behalf of…what? One of 160 is what I would be in the state legislature, and I’m very calculated on how much total investment [I’m willing to make] for the level of stakes. Now, if I were running for governor, it would be different.
