John A. Courson, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will be leaving the association, effective June 1; he will be replaced by David H. Stevens, assistant secretary for housing and commissioner for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Courson came to the MBA as chief operating officer in August 2008 and was appointed president and CEO in January 2009, according to a statement. He previously spent more than 40 years in the mortgage banking industry during which he was an active MBA member and served as the association’s chairman in 2003.

"John Courson has led MBA through the most turbulent times that this industry, and the association, has ever seen," said MBA’s Chairman Michael D. Berman. "He was compelled from the outset to make difficult financial decisions, both to bring MBA’s budget under control and to extricate MBA from the building, but he leaves MBA with a budget in the black and having executed the sale of the building while maintaining MBA’s commitment to it members."

Stevens comes to the MBA after nearly two years at the FHA, according to a statement. He was previously president and COO of Long and Foster Cos., the nation’s largest, privately-held real estate firm.

"David Stevens is uniquely qualified to lead the association in its next chapter," said Berman. "Most recently he has had a tremendous impact at FHA, as that program faced its own unprecedented challenges. He also brings a wealth of industry experience in mortgage lending that will help him further build MBA’s position as the industry’s leading voice in advocacy, communications, education and research."

Stevens is resigning from his HUD position effective March 31.