The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) on Thursday announced that David Berenbaum, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Housing Counseling at the U.S.  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has been added to the lineup of speakers scheduled for this year’s NRMLA Annual Meeting and Expo emanating from Nashville next month.

Berenbaum is expected to discuss recent changes made to the Housing Counseling Program Handbook related to reverse mortgage counseling and other unspecified HECM housing counseling priorities for the coming year.

Berenbaum joins two other leading federal housing officials who are slated to speak at the event: Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Julia Gordon is scheduled to return to give a keynote address kicking off the event programming after offering a speech at the 2022 event in Atlanta.

Shortly after the announcement of Gordon’s attendance, NRMLA also revealed that Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) President Alanna McCargo has also been scheduled to address attendees about reverse mortgage industry liquidity challenges and other priorities for the Ginnie Mae Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) program.

Earlier this month, HUD published a new update to its Housing Counseling Program Handbook, the first set of comprehensive changes to the document since 2010, with particular attention given to the HECM program. Gordon specifically cited the advancements related to the HECM program in her comments about the update.

“The updated Handbook will benefit those helping individuals and families with their housing needs,” Gordon said in a statement on September 11. “Among other things, it includes enhanced guidance for counseling homeowners considering a [HECM] so they can make an informed choice about options for aging in place.”