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62 "My ethics agreement with HUD and the Office of Government Ethics spells out the limited circumstances under which I would be required to recuse myself," Montgomery said. "It will not interfere with my ability to perform the duties of FHA Commissioner." During Montgomery's two-hour hearing, he discussed everything from the housing crisis and resulting underwriting standards to affordable rental housing and mortgage insurance. "Public service is an honor that I take very seriously, and if confirmed, I will do my best to, once again, further equal access to affordable rental, housing, and homeownership opportunities, and seek solutions to restore vitality to the housing market," Montgomery told the Senate. He also lauded FHA's performance during the housing crisis, which occurred during his first tenure as commissioner. "FHA played no role in the housing boom or the collapse, but it was FHA, quite frankly, that stepped in and provided more than a trillion dollars in mortgage liquidity that helped more than 8 million families purchase or retain their homes between 2008 and 2012, and I am extremely proud of the effort that the HUD career staff played in that role," he said. "Putting an exclamation point on that role, one noted economist said in 2011, quote, 'If FHA lending had not expanded after private mortgage lending collapsed, the housing market would have cratered, taking the economy with it.''' When Montgomery was finally confirmed seven months later, HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson called to congratulate him. "Brian brings a wealth of housing knowledge and experience to HUD, having held this position in two previous administrations, and we are excited to welcome him back to the agency," Carson said in a statement. "FHA's work is critical to HUD's mission of advancing sustainable homeownership opportunities and quality affordable housing for all Americans. Brian understands this better than anyone and will be ready on day one to address the challenges of today's housing market." FULL STEAM AHEAD Now that the lengthy confirmation process has finally come to a close, Montgomery is plowing full steam ahead, working 12-hour days to steer the ship—and all that is inherent. Most of his time, Montgomery said, is spent in meetings. After all, he's not just the head of FHA's single-family unit. He's also in charge of the agency's $90 billion-dollar multifamily portfolio and its $35 billion-dollar portfolio of healthcare facilities and nursing homes. "I'd say, probably, eight hours of my day is in meetings with my staff," he said. "As you can imagine, there's a lot of meetings discussing everything impacted within those different program offices." ere's also the work Montgomery does with other groups—public housing, community planning, and development, etc., to name a few—as well as his speaking engagements and other public appearances, all of which are aimed to further the FHA's goals and better its work with partner agencies and lenders. Montgomery even spoke at the recent Five Star Conference and sat down with the Mortgage Servicing Alliance to get input from the 'boots on the ground,'" as he put it. "I like to think we need to hear from what's happening from what I call 'boots on the ground'—the day-to-day practitioners, whether it's in default servicing, loss mitigation, origination, or property management," he said. "While you can certainly hear that things aren't "Because of its unique ability to serve these cohorts— particularly minorities—the FHA is going to be of growing importance in the coming years," Montgomery said. He estimates that 70 percent of new homebuyers will be minorities in 20 years, with Latinos leading the pack in terms of FHA purchases.

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