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Guten morgen! Glad I'm still holding Fannie!
How do you say "wee" in German? Fannie is up 5.9% there right now.
For those of us that can't wait until Tuesday, :)
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/charts/charts.asp?ticker=FNM:GR
The swaps expire in April, and they'll be closing the chapter with the Allergan deal to the tune of a $6 billion payout. We'll continue to see a rise in PPS, IMO. Go Fnma, Fmcc!
They need to end the sweep! before anything can be recapitalized. Then, they would be looking at capital requirements for re/uplist to NYSE. That could all happen overnight, or longer. Specific requirements for release from conservatorship are hard to find which the gov has taken full advantage of, BUT....Sweeney said she wants to know when and how conservatorship will end, so we should find out soon.
Careful, you know a previous OIG official was ousted, right? :)
Agree, he likes the US trillion dollar companies :)
Agree!!! She and others have posted before, but they have to continue at the right times when there is a ground swelling of support. IMO Shareholders were left for a reason (big picture). Confluence of events now, let's keep this rolling, shareholders will not be silenced!!!
He said in 2013 that it was most interesting also, but look out!!! He has invested time, court cases, owns well over 10% just in common shares, and just stated, they are in it for the long haul. We'll be hearing much more in the weeks ahead! The last charitable event, he had a nice chat with Dalio, founder of the richest hedge fund in the world, among many others. :)
Yes, "If we hold the shares until transaction closure, we will receive $3.4 billion in cash and 9.81 million shares of Actavis worth $2.6 billion at current value," the letter said. As far as Fannie, Freddie, they just said Jan 29th, they're in it for the long haul.
woo hoo! Exciting times to come!
This week could be very exciting. There are always clues in the ER for those that take time to read the reports. Depositions start, I believe with the CEOs. A lot is happening, discovery continues!!! Berkowitz and Ackman just stated they are in it for the long haul. I'll post those recent quotes, if you like. Exciting time, let's stay focused, we want answers. 6 1/2 years in conservatorship, that's crazy!!! Someone's not doing their job. Let's go!!!
She's been at it for quite a while. Some of her articles, questions may have gone unanswered buried again, but now we're at a stage where Sweeney says discovery will continue, there will not be a stay. The best the gov can do is declare everything protected, but the judge will see, and she wants answers!
Yes, Carney is not for us shareholders. He and 2 other reps have a bill that is not kind to us, just their own interests of what they would like to do with Fnma, Fmcc. Their bill doesn't stand a chance, but good to keep eyes open to what everyone is up to. :)
That was US rep Carney's proposed ammendment from Friday's continuation of the budget talks, but it was not agreed upon. Most of us watched the hearing on Thursday. I was going to post any proposed amendments that included Fnma. I think that was it. Most ammendments were not agreed upon anyway. I posted the entire written part of the committees' views and estimates for the budget, before the hearing started, so we could compare it to what was being said at the hearing. It's probably good to remember both aspects, what they still try and sneak by in writing, and what goes on at the actual hearing. We need to focus and keep writing to the right congressmen on the right subcommittees to ask the right questions. I want to watch the hearing and have our questions answered!
Just a reminder Ackman will be closing the chapter on Allergan in April. He said before they're expecting a $6 billion payday! He has also said before that he regularly distributes profits to ALL their holdings. We should continue to see good updates. Go Fnma, Fmcc!
As I understand it came from the conference on the 28th. Basically, to the gov, you've been stalling, get your butt in gear, you have 4 months (procedure) not meaning it should take that long. That's why I posed my question to Obi back then to see if he showed any concern. It seems everything is proceeding nicely, CEO depositions and ER all coming out.
Not a fan? :) Keep me updated!!! I just track potential movers of the stock
We tweeted some. ;) Need to get Kyle Bass back in. He's familiar with the story! Go Fannie!!'
Big money likes things in writing. Great confluence of events. Actual transcripts from Jan 28th status conf were available this week. Depositions from CEO's, earnings report, etc. Did you see the lineup at the charity event? Ackman talking with Dalio? Founder of largest hedge fund. Last year, he enticed other hedgies at his presentation. Most got burned by the bogus markup/bill news and then the algorithmic drop. That won't happen this year. Court is further along. Everything keeps lining up now.
Go Fannie, Freddie!!!!
all day!
Ya, and his first White House chief of staff made hundreds of thousands while on Freddie board :)
I love our Fannie! Happy V day and President's Day, ihubbers!!!
Ackman on Foxbusiness now!
In 10 minutes
RiskRewardFBN: Don't miss @DeirdreBolton's interview with Bill Ackman at 1pmET/10amPT on @FoxBusiness http://t.co/LTGoRA7QxR
Dax1, we discussed that a bit here too after the conference on the 28th. I asked Obi his opinion on the 4 month remark also. He didn't answer, but that's OK. :) If you want to know the exact remark, I'll go through the transcript and get back to you! :)
trust me :) it's available
woo hoo holiday weekend! markets closed Monday, get your order in!
MB here's the link, must not have had redactions, it's like 38 pgs, a bit costly
http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/node/4445?s=mobile
RiskRewardFBN: Don't miss @DeirdreBolton's interview with Bill Ackman at 1pmET/10amPT on @FoxBusiness http://t.co/LTGoRA7QxR
MB, transcript is available
@RiskRewardFBN: Don't miss @DeirdreBolton's interview with Bill Ackman tomorrow at 1pmET/10amPT on @FoxBusiness http://t.co/LTGoRA7QxR
Ackman on Fox business tomorrow at 1pm EST. Thanks for the updates hvpatel, good stuff!!!
That would be fitting, President's Day! I'll try and be there! Let's go Fannie, little brother Freddie!
I'm about ready for a practice toast! C'mon Fannie! We need to Wynn!!!
For anyone watching today's hearing. This is the committee's written views and estimates that were posted.
Views and Estimates of the Committee on Financial Services on Matters to be Set Forth in the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016
"THE GOVERNMENT SPONSORED ENTERPRISES 2
3 After they failed in September 2008, the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)
4 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship under the Federal Housing
5 Finance Agency (FHFA). The GSEs failed because of years of mismanagement,
6 unsustainable market practices, and an inherently flawed hybrid business model, and their
7 failure resulted in the costliest of all the taxpayer bailouts. The GSEs remain in business
8 only because the federal government grants them preferential treatment it affords to no
9 other financial institution. For example, the federal government allows the GSEs to
10 conduct new business, even though they are critically undercapitalized. According to their
11 latest 10-K Annual Reports, Fannie Mae was leveraged at 341-to-1 and Freddie Mac was
12 leveraged at 156-to-1. The GSEs’ chronic and critical undercapitalization poses an
13 unacceptable risk to taxpayers.
14
15 To date, Fannie Mae has drawn approximately $117 billion in taxpayer funds, and
16 Freddie Mac has drawn approximately $72 billion. So far, taxpayers have bailed out the
17 GSEs to the tune of $189.485 billion. In exchange for the more than $189 billion that the
18 GSEs drew from the Treasury to prevent them from going bankrupt, the Treasury
19 Department—and thus, the taxpayers—received shares of GSE Senior Preferred Stock.
20 Under the terms of the taxpayer-funded bailouts, the GSEs pay dividends on those shares
21 when they show a profit, but those dividend payments cannot be used to reduce or redeem
22 the shares of preferred stock that the taxpayers still own.
23
24 Given the continued risk that the GSEs pose to taxpayers, the time for fundamental
25 GSE reform is now. And rather than mitigate these risks, the GSEs’ regulator—the
26 FHFA—has increased the risk that they pose to taxpayers by expanding their activities and
27 further entrenching their market share. Six years have passed since the housing bubble
28 fueled by the GSEs’ recklessness burst, and the Administration has failed to put forth a
29 plan for reforming the GSEs. By contrast, in the 113th Congress this Committee marked
30 up and favorably reported housing finance reform legislation, H.R. 2767, to resolve the
31 GSEs' conservatorship and their unworkable hybrid status. The Committee continues to
32 support legislative initiatives in the 114th Congress to require the FHFA to repeal the
33 charters of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to wind them down. In their place, the
34 Committee supports legislative initiatives that create a private housing finance market
35 with a new statutory structure for regulating mortgage lending and securitization.
36
37 After Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in conservatorship, the CBO
38 concluded that they should be included in the federal budget to reflect their cost to the
39 taxpayer. But in the President’s FY 2016 budget, the GSEs are treated as “non-budgetary
40 entities” rather than government agencies whose activities are backed and paid for by
41 taxpayers. As a result, the billions upon billions of losses experienced by the GSEs and the
42 ongoing risk of further losses that the GSEs pose to taxpayers are not properly accounted
4
1 for on the government’s financial statements. The Committee strongly recommends that
2 the Office of Management and Budget be directed by statute to move Fannie Mae and
3 Freddie Mac “on budget,” and to account for losses sustained since they were placed in
4 conservatorship in the same way that the CBO calculates their losses. The Committee also
5 recommends subjecting the GSEs to the statutory debt limit. To allow time to implement
6 these changes, the Committee recommends an effective date of 90 days after the enactment
7 of any such changes."
Same channel, tomorrow 10am is the markup for the 2016 fiscal year budget. This is what the house committee on financial services has to say about the GSE's and 2026 budget.
Views and Estimates of the Committee on Financial Services on Matters to be Set Forth in the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016
"THE GOVERNMENT SPONSORED ENTERPRISES 2
3 After they failed in September 2008, the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)
4 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship under the Federal Housing
5 Finance Agency (FHFA). The GSEs failed because of years of mismanagement,
6 unsustainable market practices, and an inherently flawed hybrid business model, and their
7 failure resulted in the costliest of all the taxpayer bailouts. The GSEs remain in business
8 only because the federal government grants them preferential treatment it affords to no
9 other financial institution. For example, the federal government allows the GSEs to
10 conduct new business, even though they are critically undercapitalized. According to their
11 latest 10-K Annual Reports, Fannie Mae was leveraged at 341-to-1 and Freddie Mac was
12 leveraged at 156-to-1. The GSEs’ chronic and critical undercapitalization poses an
13 unacceptable risk to taxpayers.
14
15 To date, Fannie Mae has drawn approximately $117 billion in taxpayer funds, and
16 Freddie Mac has drawn approximately $72 billion. So far, taxpayers have bailed out the
17 GSEs to the tune of $189.485 billion. In exchange for the more than $189 billion that the
18 GSEs drew from the Treasury to prevent them from going bankrupt, the Treasury
19 Department—and thus, the taxpayers—received shares of GSE Senior Preferred Stock.
20 Under the terms of the taxpayer-funded bailouts, the GSEs pay dividends on those shares
21 when they show a profit, but those dividend payments cannot be used to reduce or redeem
22 the shares of preferred stock that the taxpayers still own.
23
24 Given the continued risk that the GSEs pose to taxpayers, the time for fundamental
25 GSE reform is now. And rather than mitigate these risks, the GSEs’ regulator—the
26 FHFA—has increased the risk that they pose to taxpayers by expanding their activities and
27 further entrenching their market share. Six years have passed since the housing bubble
28 fueled by the GSEs’ recklessness burst, and the Administration has failed to put forth a
29 plan for reforming the GSEs. By contrast, in the 113th Congress this Committee marked
30 up and favorably reported housing finance reform legislation, H.R. 2767, to resolve the
31 GSEs' conservatorship and their unworkable hybrid status. The Committee continues to
32 support legislative initiatives in the 114th Congress to require the FHFA to repeal the
33 charters of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to wind them down. In their place, the
34 Committee supports legislative initiatives that create a private housing finance market
35 with a new statutory structure for regulating mortgage lending and securitization.
36
37 After Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in conservatorship, the CBO
38 concluded that they should be included in the federal budget to reflect their cost to the
39 taxpayer. But in the President’s FY 2016 budget, the GSEs are treated as “non-budgetary
40 entities” rather than government agencies whose activities are backed and paid for by
41 taxpayers. As a result, the billions upon billions of losses experienced by the GSEs and the
42 ongoing risk of further losses that the GSEs pose to taxpayers are not properly accounted
4
1 for on the government’s financial statements. The Committee strongly recommends that
2 the Office of Management and Budget be directed by statute to move Fannie Mae and
3 Freddie Mac “on budget,” and to account for losses sustained since they were placed in
4 conservatorship in the same way that the CBO calculates their losses. The Committee also
5 recommends subjecting the GSEs to the statutory debt limit. To allow time to implement
6 these changes, the Committee recommends an effective date of 90 days after the enactment
7 of any such changes."
Report TOS
Views and Estimates of the Committee on Financial Services on Matters to be Set Forth in the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016
"THE GOVERNMENT SPONSORED ENTERPRISES 2
3 After they failed in September 2008, the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)
4 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship under the Federal Housing
5 Finance Agency (FHFA). The GSEs failed because of years of mismanagement,
6 unsustainable market practices, and an inherently flawed hybrid business model, and their
7 failure resulted in the costliest of all the taxpayer bailouts. The GSEs remain in business
8 only because the federal government grants them preferential treatment it affords to no
9 other financial institution. For example, the federal government allows the GSEs to
10 conduct new business, even though they are critically undercapitalized. According to their
11 latest 10-K Annual Reports, Fannie Mae was leveraged at 341-to-1 and Freddie Mac was
12 leveraged at 156-to-1. The GSEs’ chronic and critical undercapitalization poses an
13 unacceptable risk to taxpayers.
14
15 To date, Fannie Mae has drawn approximately $117 billion in taxpayer funds, and
16 Freddie Mac has drawn approximately $72 billion. So far, taxpayers have bailed out the
17 GSEs to the tune of $189.485 billion. In exchange for the more than $189 billion that the
18 GSEs drew from the Treasury to prevent them from going bankrupt, the Treasury
19 Department—and thus, the taxpayers—received shares of GSE Senior Preferred Stock.
20 Under the terms of the taxpayer-funded bailouts, the GSEs pay dividends on those shares
21 when they show a profit, but those dividend payments cannot be used to reduce or redeem
22 the shares of preferred stock that the taxpayers still own.
23
24 Given the continued risk that the GSEs pose to taxpayers, the time for fundamental
25 GSE reform is now. And rather than mitigate these risks, the GSEs’ regulator—the
26 FHFA—has increased the risk that they pose to taxpayers by expanding their activities and
27 further entrenching their market share. Six years have passed since the housing bubble
28 fueled by the GSEs’ recklessness burst, and the Administration has failed to put forth a
29 plan for reforming the GSEs. By contrast, in the 113th Congress this Committee marked
30 up and favorably reported housing finance reform legislation, H.R. 2767, to resolve the
31 GSEs' conservatorship and their unworkable hybrid status. The Committee continues to
32 support legislative initiatives in the 114th Congress to require the FHFA to repeal the
33 charters of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to wind them down. In their place, the
34 Committee supports legislative initiatives that create a private housing finance market
35 with a new statutory structure for regulating mortgage lending and securitization.
36
37 After Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in conservatorship, the CBO
38 concluded that they should be included in the federal budget to reflect their cost to the
39 taxpayer. But in the President’s FY 2016 budget, the GSEs are treated as “non-budgetary
40 entities” rather than government agencies whose activities are backed and paid for by
41 taxpayers. As a result, the billions upon billions of losses experienced by the GSEs and the
42 ongoing risk of further losses that the GSEs pose to taxpayers are not properly accounted
4
1 for on the government’s financial statements. The Committee strongly recommends that
2 the Office of Management and Budget be directed by statute to move Fannie Mae and
3 Freddie Mac “on budget,” and to account for losses sustained since they were placed in
4 conservatorship in the same way that the CBO calculates their losses. The Committee also
5 recommends subjecting the GSEs to the statutory debt limit. To allow time to implement
6 these changes, the Committee recommends an effective date of 90 days after the enactment
7 of any such changes."
Thats is why Watt kept bring up the PSPA at the hearing on the 27th. IMO. It says in the agreement that the Treasury can end it itself for various reasons. I haven't seen a part where it says the FHFA can end it unilaterally from their side. FHFA should still go ahead themselves and push Treasury to end it. or just end it, let Treasury sue them, because it is not in the best interest of the companies that they are supposed to be overseeing, while under conservatorship. After listening to Watt in November, it was obvious that they needed Lew at a hearing before congress. It seems that no one is able to confront the Treasury, because that path leads to all the high-ranking government officials' involvement. IMO
From Berkowitz February 3rd conference call,
"Fred Fraenkel: Well, Bruce, can you discuss who’s involved on behalf of the government?
Bruce Berkowitz: It’s a long list. In our recent annual letter for The Fairholme Fund, we included examples from one Treasury privilege log that was recently produced. Now, a privilege log spells out documents that the Treasury is unwilling to share even under a protective order. It states the authors, the recipients, the topic, the date, and the reason [they assert] privilege for each communication.
And we expect thousands of such communications to be listed. The common theme of what we have seen among almost all of the cast of characters is their connection to the United States Treasury Department. Senior employees at Treasury who were directly involved [include]: Tim Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury; Neal Wolin, the Deputy Secretary; Mary Miller, the Under Secretary; Tim Bowler, the Deputy Assistant Secretary; Michael Stegman, the Counselor to the Secretary; and others. All discussing and designing the illegal net worth sweep.
Then there’s Ed DeMarco, the FHFA conservator who signed the Third Amendment in August of 2012. He previously served at the Treasury and ran the Office of Financial Institutions Policy. His responsibilities at Treasury included Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
DeMarco’s senior adviser at FHFA, Mario Ugoletti, was a long-serving Treasury employee who had also run the Office of Financial Institutions Policy [and whose responsibilities] included Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ugoletti noted in his court affidavit that he had primary responsibility at FHFA for negotiating and administering the [Preferred Stock Purchase] Agreement, the very agreement that he had helped draft when he worked at Treasury before he departed for FHFA. Can he really be considered independent? Can you really consider negotiating with your former employees and colleagues about documents you helped draft to be independent or arm’s length? If that is not a serious conflict of interest, I don’t know what is.
And we have Gene Sperling, one of the principal architects of the Third Amendment. He served as Counselor to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner until he moved over to the
Please see the last page of this transcript for important disclaimers and for a list of the Fairholme Fund’s top holdings.
10
White House as Director of the National Economic Council. From that perch, Sperling was able to push the unlawful policy amendment through with the help of Brian Deese, now the President’s Senior Advisor in the West Wing of the White House.
We find it interesting that of all the financial advisory firms in America, Treasury hired Moody’s to analyze the GSEs [Government Sponsored Enterprises]. This is the same Moody’s that showed poor judgment in the crisis and is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice. [It is] the same Moody’s that testified as an “independent expert” to Congress on the financial crisis, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.
Clearly, senior Treasury officials exchanged [numerous] e-mails about the relationship between Treasury and FHFA as conservator. But they ask, and they say, “What relationship?” The government has said in court that there is no relationship. This is going to be very interesting correspondence to review when a little bit of daylight shines on these documents.
According to recent Congressional testimony, Mel Watt, our conservator at FHFA, claims that he’s unable to end his own conservatorship. In the history of conservatorships, this is a first. Think about it: a federal conservator unable to end his own conservatorship – that he administers – without the consent of the Treasury Department. That’s his sworn testimony to Congress. And to think that the Treasury has asserted in our court case that it has not directed our conservator’s actions. Time and time again, the cover-up is always worse than the crime."