Treasury Downplays Talk of Ending GSEs? Conservatorship, Reiterates Support for Reform
By Carisa Chappell cchappell@imfpubs.com
(asshole) Rep. Ed Royce, R-CA, used this week's House Financial Services Committee hearing to question (asshole)Treasury Secretary Jack Lew about steps leading toward reform of the government-sponsored enterprises. Royce asked Lew whether he agreed with the false narrative that the taxpayers have been repaid and the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should end.
(asshole) Lew said he agrees that risk continues to be borne by taxpayers and it's not the right time to talk about ending the GSEs conservatorship and paying dividends. The damage done to our economy by the housing crisis was far more than the simple amount of money that was put into the GSEs and I think Americans are still healing from the pain of that financial crisis, he said.
(asshole) Lew said he's in favor of moving forward with GSE reform and that the Common Securitization Platform can play a role in increasing private-sector participation in the housing finance system.
Obviously there is a Common Securitization Platform being built, it's something that could be expanded beyond the GSEs and be available more broadly, he said. I think that the more we?re able to lay a foundation that a private securitization market could be built on, the better off we'd be.
