Politicians Now Leading Financial Regulation Ronald Reagan said that “The taxpayer is someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.” Taxpayers pretty much own Freddie and Fannie, and the latest news is that U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) will be chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
House Financial Services Committee
It’s been slightly over two years since the government took over Fannie & Freddie and a few months since the Frank/Dodd Finreg bill was passed. And today the House Financial Services Committee is hearing testimony on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Below are some reference links. Of particular note are the two
Despite volatility last week that caused rates to move up and down about .2%, we ended the week even. Business and consumer inflation reports both showed that inflation is under control. The Fed reiterated this after their FOMC meeting Tuesday, and left overnight bank-to-bank and Fed-to-bank rates at .25% and .75% respectively. Rates were especially
Following Ben Bernanke’s semi-annual monetary policy testimony to the House Financial Services Committee this morning, stocks are rallying, Treasuries are up modestly and mortgage bonds are flat. The full testimony is below and the core message hasn’t changed: a “nascent” economic recovery means that inflation is likely to remain subdued for some time, the Fed
Below is Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s full testimony he was scheduled to deliver to the House Financial Services Committee today but the hearing was postponed due to weather. This testimony, when it does happen, will be followed by detailed Q&A which we will cover in more detail. For now, the most important point to highlight
Replace Fannie/Freddie? In the current environment, the government giveth, and the government taketh away. Barney Frank once again made headlines last week with the statement that the House Financial Services Committee will recommend doing away with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and “rebuilding the U.S. housing-finance system from scratch”. “A whole new system of housing
Below are key excerpts from the full transcript of Obama’s 12/12/09 response to the House reform bill. Also today, Obama hosted executives of the biggest financial firms at the White House and said big banks owed an “extraordinary commitment” to help rebuild a sustaining recovery after the government assistance they got. He also said that
Thought the healthcare debate was big in 2009? It looks like 2010’s financial regulatory reform debate could be bigger. The House today passed a bill (vote: 223-to-202) authored largely by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank that will now be debated and reconciled with a Senate bill over the coming months with an eye
Yesterday during testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on Financial Regulation, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said there is a forthcoming plan to allow private equity firms and hedge funds to invest in banks. Right now, private investors cannot accumulate more than a 9.9% stake in banks without bumping into regulations, but this could rise
MORE HOMES BECOMING RENTALS Goldman Sachs published a good research piece the other day addressing homes being turned into rental units, since buyers aren’t coming to the surface. Basically demand for owner-occupied housing has gone down, and in addition displaced homeowners need rental units since their credit (assuming they lost their own home) has deteriorated.
Fixed and ARM rates open this week down about .125% this week, but the rest of the week isn’t likely to trend downward. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gives his semiannual testimony on the economy before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday – and he’ll have fresh inflation