Mortgage industry grieves death of Regina Lowrie, the MBA’s first female chair

Regina Lowrie, the first female chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association, died suddenly on Jan. 1. She was 68.

Lowrie was most recently the president and CEO of Dytrix, a fintech company that enables secure financial transactions that includes closing agent management and real-time wire/ACH transfer validation for institutions. With nearly 40 years of experience in the real estate finance industry, Lowrie is widely known for making history in 2005 as the first female elected chair of the MBA.

“She was a trailblazing leader who was the first woman to serve as MBA’s chairman,” president & CEO Robert Broeksmit of MBA said in a statement. “Her tenacity, resilience, and fierce advocacy for our industry will long be remembered by all those fortunate enough to have interacted with her. We offer our condolences to her friends, colleagues, and family.”

In 2003, Lowrie accepted her nomination to serve on the MBA leadership ladder — initially serving as MBA vice chair. She also served as a volunteer on numerous MBA committees and on the MBA Residential Board of Governors (RESBOG). She was also the first woman to lead the MBA of Greater Philadelphia in 1995.

Lowrie was well-liked by her colleagues who described her as loyal and straightforward in her views.

“Regina was not only a dear friend for many years but was an integral part of our industry, both on national and state level,” said E. Robert Levy, executive director and counsel with the MBA of New Jersey. “To say that she will be greatly missed is an understatement.”

Her career also includes president and CEO of Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services for 12 years until 2006. When Gateway Funding was sold in 2006, the firm had grown to 800 employees with 57 branches and had a loan production of $3.5 billion with revenues of more than $100 million.

Having grown up in the Philadelphia area, Lowrie’s career was mostly based in Pennsylvania. She was founder, president and CEO of RML Investments Inc, a specialized advisory firm focused on helping mortgage banking clients analyze enterprise risks and was president at Vision Mortgage Capital and senior vice president of Continental Bank.

Lowrie also served as an advisory board member and board of directors member for a diverse list of public and private entities, including the Fannie Mae National Advisory Council, the Radian Guaranty Advisory Board, the Board of Directors of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp.

Lowrie “was a tireless advocate and leader to the industry,” Dave Stevens, CEO at Mountain Lake Consulting Inc and former head of the FHA and MBA, wrote on his LinkedIn post mourning her passing. “She will be missed by all who knew her.”

“She taught me a lot about the business,” Anthony Ianni, a former colleague of Lowrie at Comnet Mortgage Services and vice president of solutions at Maxwell, wrote on LinkedIn.

“One thing she instilled was follow-up. I still use her method. Condolences to her family, and rest in peace.”