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Navy's right, Kingu1's wrong
Anybody can listen about 36 min in
Mortgage applications spike, biggest gain in six years
Diana Olick | @diana_olick
2 Hours Ago
CNBC.com
Ty Wright | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A real estate agent exits a home for sale in Lancaster, Ohio, Jan. 9, 2015.
A sharp drop in interest rates, combined with new reduced costs for the market's most popular mortgage products, sent mortgage applications soaring last week.
Total volume increased 49.1 percent from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to a weekly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the week ending January 9, 2015.
The jump was fueled by a seasonally adjusted 66 percent increase in applications to refinance, which are now at the highest level since July 2013. Applications for interest-rate-sensitive jumbo refinances more than quadrupled from the previous week.
Applications for a loan to purchase a home rose a seasonally adjusted 24 percent from the previous week and are now two percent higher than they were a year ago, the first annual gain in over a year. A new 3 percent down payment loan option at Fannie Mae for borrowers with high credit scores contributed to the gain, according to the MBA.
"Purchase application volume was at its highest level since September 2013…and notably increased across most loan size categories, particularly for the conforming, middle of the market loan segments that had been weak for much of the past year," said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA.
PLAY VIDEO
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 3.89 percent, the lowest level since May 2013, from 4.01 percent, with points decreasing to 0.23 from 0.28 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
"In addition to the drop in rates, and news of improvement in the job market, there was additional positive news for prospective homebuyers with evidence that credit availability has increased somewhat, and with FHA's announcement of a decrease in their mortgage insurance premiums," added Fratantoni.
The FHA does not originate, but insures loans with down payments as low as 3.5 percent. The drop in FHA premiums of a half percentage point does not go into effect until January 26th, but borrowers will be able to cancel their current case numbers and reapply on the 26th, meaning that if they lock in a low rate now, they can take advantage of the premium reduction later.
"It might make perfect sense. There is no cost to cancel and no cost to reapply," said Brian Sullivan, a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Sullivan, however, warned that for those who already have FHA loans in process, there could be hidden costs to reapplying, especially if their closings are before or close to the date of the premium change.
"If your closing is too soon it might cost you in the moving van, shifting the closing date, extending the rate lock. It could impact the appraisal that underwrites the property, which may have an expiration date," added Sullivan, who suggests borrowers contact their lenders to get all the necessary information.
While FHA loan applications rose far less than those for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that may change in the coming weeks, as borrowers who already have FHA loans seek to refinance under the lower premiums. FHA already offers a streamlined refinance program for loans it currently backs, cutting out much of the costly paperwork.
"It's a really big deal. Current FHA borrowers would need to refinance, but in most cases, it will be well worth the trouble. The monthly savings from a 0.5 basis point drop in mortgage insurance is substantial," said Matthew Graham of Mortgage News Daily. "The fact that rates are at long-term lows is the clincher. If rates were significantly higher than the past few years, it would only be a benefit for new purchases."
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 71 percent of total applications last week from 65 percent the previous week, according to the MBA. The new FHA premiums could push that share even higher, and create considerable new business for lenders. A spike in business, however, could allow lenders to push interest rates slightly higher.
Mortgages
30 yr fixed 3.87% 3.97%
30 yr fixed jumbo 4.26% 4.37%
15 yr fixed 2.95% 3.14%
15 yr fixed jumbo 3.93% 4.15%
5/1 ARM 3.05% 5.02%
5/1 jumbo ARM 3.57% 5.98%
Find personalized rates:
Bankrate.com
Diana Olick
CNBC Real Estate Reporter
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102335592
and all company net profits are going to the Treasury "indefinitely." Tough job, IMO.
I can't imagine being the executives of Fannie, Freddie (today, not past :) with all the outside legislative proposals that have been thrown out there. You're righting a ship, you have a crew working overtime and you have congressmen etc. outside of the company stating their cases for "reform." You're managing trillions of dollars, regulations, employees, court cases, and you're pretty much under a "gag order" and conservatorship by the US gov.
Thank you Strykerd for correcting Kingu1. Those are important points. IMO :)
He didn't sound harsh at all today answering Fannie, Freddie questions. He said there was nothing he knew of coming down the pike from congress.
No doubt on what side Wall Street Journal sits!
Yes! You'll be rich with dividends.
Thanks for the update. I have family that are realtors in California, good to keep up with the news!
What's up with California? Kb homes outlook, now Ocwen license?
Ocwen Drops Most Ever as California Seeks License Suspension
By Zeke Faux and Michael B. Marois
January 13, 2015 12:52 PM EST
Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN), one of the biggest U.S. mortgage servicers, fell the most ever after a newspaper reported that California is seeking to suspend its license.
Ocwen plunged 30 percent to $8.56 at 12:28 p.m. in New York, the biggest drop since the firm went public in 1996. The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that California’s Department of Business Oversight may suspend its license for a year, an action that would force Ocwen to sell its mortgage-servicing rights in the state.
Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for the agency, said Ocwen has ignored requests for information.
“We can’t just sit around and let them do that to us,” Dresslar said today in a telephone interview. “So we ultimately, after giving them plenty of opportunity to provide us the information, decided that we would go after their license.”
The agency is seeking to find whether Ocwen is complying with a California law giving homeowners a bill of rights that took effect in 2013, he said. A hearing with a state administrative law judge is scheduled for July, Dresslar said.
An Ocwen spokesman told the Los Angeles Times that it is cooperating fully and recently turned over the information requested. Calls to Atlanta-based Ocwen weren’t returned today.
N.Y. Probe
Ocwen’s shares have declined 85 percent in the past year amid a review by its auditor and investigations by the New York Department of Financial Services and the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. William Erbey, 65, the firm’s founder, agreed last month to step down from his positions at Ocwen and related companies in a settlement with New York regulators.
“We think the issues outlined in the article can be addressed by actions OCN is already taking, especially since near-term profitability is not important, but we need to speak to management,” Bose George, an analyst at Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. in New York, wrote in a report today, using Ocwen’s ticker symbol to refer to the company.
Home Loan Servicing Solutions Ltd., which buys mortgage-servicing rights from Ocwen then hires it to collect loan payments, fell 20 percent to $12.85. Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. also dropped, declining 6.1 percent to $24.48.
Other non-bank servicers may be at risk of similar investigations, Jaret Seiberg, a managing director at Guggenheim Securities LLC in Washington, wrote in a report.
Mortgage servicers handle billing and collections on behalf of lenders or investors who own the loans, and oversee foreclosures when borrowers default. Banks have been selling the rights to reduce their risks in line with new regulations.
To contact the reporters on this story: Zeke Faux in New York at zfaux@bloomberg.net; Michael B. Marois in Sacramento at mmarois@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net Steven Crabill, Dan Kraut
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-13/ocwen-drops-most-ever-on-report-california-may-suspend-license.html
Thanks Zeph!
Cordray: "Sustainable home ownership the most important way middle class families can build wealth and savings." #CFPB
10:27am - 13 Jan 15
MetLife suing the gov. They don't want stricter oversight, FSOC, SIFI status. I can't blame them! :)
In video in response to Stephanie's question to what impact the CEO thinks FSOC would have on MetLife, he says, "I don't know, the Fed hasn't written the rules yet." Good point who wants to sign up for something where they can't even tell you what the rules will be?
FINANCE
MetLife Challenges Lew in Clash Shunned by AIG, GE: Timeline
By Jing Cao and Zachary Tracer
January 13, 2015 9:27 AM EST
MetLife Inc. (MET) will fight its designation as systemically important in court, seeking to avoid the stricter oversight that’s been ordered for American International Group Inc. (AIG), Prudential Financial Inc. and a General Electric Co. (GE) unit.
7:55
MetLife CEO: Insurer Risk Tag Creates Unlevel Field
1 hour ago
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Below is a timeline of events leading to to the designations.
Sept. 16, 2008: The U.S. agrees to rescue American International Group Inc., a day after letting Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. fail. The bailout eventually swells to $182.3 billion, and the insurer finishes repaying it in 2012.
2009: MetLife, the biggest U.S.life insurer, is among U.S. financial firms undergoing stress tests by the Federal Reserve to determine whether they have enough capital to withstand a prolonged economic downturn.
April 13, 2009: MetLife says it won’t seek a bailout from the Treasury Department through the Capital Repurchase Program.
May 7, 2009: Stress-test results show that MetLife doesn’t need extra capital to withstand a prolonged recession.
July 21, 2010: President Barack Obama signs the Dodd-Frank Act into law, implementing an overhaul of rules governing financial firms and markets. The act establishes the Financial Stability Oversight Council to help identify threats to the U.S. economy. The FSOC can designate certain firms as SIFIs -- systemically important financial institutions -- and order closer oversight for them.
June 8, 2011: General Electric’s finance arm, GE Capital Corp., says it believes it is systemically important.
Dec. 27, 2011: MetLife agrees to sell $7.5 billion of deposits to General Electric, part of a strategy to exit banking and end oversight by the Fed.
Jan. 10, 2012: MetLife says it will shut its home mortgage-origination business.
March 13, 2012: MetLife falls short of the capital ratio standard in a Fed stress test.
April 26, 2012: MetLife agrees to sell its reverse-mortgage portfolio to Nationstar Mortgage LLC.
Oct. 2, 2012: AIG says it is under consideration to be labeled as systemically important by the FSOC.
Oct. 5, 2012: GE Capital has entered the final stage of regulatory review for possible SIFI status, Bloomberg reports.
Oct. 19, 2012: Prudential enters the final stage of SIFI review.
Nov. 2, 2012: MetLife agrees to sell its $70 billion mortgage-servicing business to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Nov. 1, 2012: AIG says it won’t contest a systemically important designation. In a letter to the FSOC, Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche says, “We welcome supervision by the Federal Reserve.”
Dec. 11, 2012: The Treasury sells its final stake in AIG, ending the bailout and recording a $22.7 billion profit on its investment.
Feb. 14, 2013: MetLife wins approval to deregister as a bank holding company.
March 4, 2013: MetLife CEO Steven Kandarian says that the insurer shouldn’t be a SIFI. “We don’t have the interconnectedness,” he says. “If we go down, no other company goes down.”
June 3, 2013: The FSOC proposes to label AIG, Prudential, and GE Capital as systemically important. The companies have 30 days to appeal.
July 2, 2013: GE Capital and AIG decide to accept SIFI status. Prudential requests a hearing, becoming the first company to challenge the label.
July 9, 2013: AIG and GE Capital are labeled systemically important.
July 16, 2013: MetLife enters the last stage of a regulatory review that could label it as systemically important.
Sept. 19, 2013: Federal regulators reject Prudential’s appeal and label the insurer as a SIFI.
Oct. 18, 2013: Prudential abandons its quest to overturn the SIFI designation.
Oct. 31, 2013: MetLife’s Kandarian says the insurer is “not ruling out any of the remedies under Dodd-Frank to contest a SIFI designation.”
Dec. 18, 2014: MetLife is labeled a SIFI and says it’s considering whether to fight the label in court.
Jan. 13, 2015: MetLife says it will challenge the FSOC’s decision in federal court, becoming the first company to take such a step.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jing Cao in New York at hcao38@bloomberg.net; Zachary Tracer in New York at ztracer1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at dkraut2@bloomberg.net; Dan Reichl at dreichl@bloomberg.net Dan Reichl
More News: Finance, Insurance
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-13/metlife-challenges-lew-in-clash-shunned-by-aig-ge-timeline.html?cmpid=yhoo
I just heard that, not good for homebuilders Kbh down 12%. Cramer was just pumping them all last month.
"I would note that the MBS portfolio was liquidated at a profit ($25 billion) to taxpayers over a one year period ending in March 2012."
Taxpayer? 50% of the population doesn't even pay taxes. I did, but I didn't get a check. I really wish they would stop saying, we paid back the taxpayer, and more accurately state that they just added more to the Treasury coffers. IMO
Red flags and no notes or documentation.
Rocco, I think this is interesting Treasury's response throughout, the timing and listing of events right before conservatorship. Then the letter from Treasury on page 22.
http://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/ig/Audit%20Reports%20and%20Testimonies/OIG-12-061.pdf
Obama Treasury choice withdraws; faced opposition
1 Hour Ago
The Associated Press
Kevin Winter | Getty Images
A Wall Street banker nominated by President Barack Obama to be the third-ranking official at the Treasury Department has pulled out of contention for the post in the face of Democratic opposition, a blow to the White House and a victory for the party's liberal wing.
The White House says Antonio Weiss asked that Obama not resubmit his nomination to the Senate. Instead, Weiss will serve as a counselor to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, a post that does not require Senate confirmation.
Obama last year nominated Weiss, a Lazard investment banker, to be undersecretary of the Treasury Department, heading the office that oversees domestic finance. Without action in the Senate last year to confirm him, Obama would have had to re-nominate him to the job.
Read MoreDimon says he struggled with disclosing cancer
Weiss faced vocal opposition from Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a leading liberal voice in the Senate and a top advocate for tough banking and Wall Street regulations. Warren argued that Weiss was too close to Wall Street to hold a high post at Treasury. Following her lead, several other Democrats had announced they would oppose Weiss, putting his confirmation in peril.
By keeping Weiss on as a counselor, the Obama administration signaled its annoyance with the resistance Weiss faced from Democrats.
"I continue to believe that the opposition to his nomination was not justified," Lew said in a statement. As counselor, Weiss will provide advice on issues ranging from financial markets to regulatory reform and economic growth, Lew said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a liberal independent who caucuses with Democrats, said Obama does not need advisers who come from Wall Street. "I have no personal animosity toward Mr. Weiss but I am very glad he withdrew his nomination," Sanders said.
The withdrawal was first reported by Politico.
White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said the White House would now conduct a search for another nominee.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102331258
Isn't it crazy that trillion dollar US companies are up for volley? Now that's a national security threat. IMHO.
On January 13, Governance Studies at Brookings will host Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for a discussion about the mortgage market.
Cordray is the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He previously led the bureau’s Office of Enforcement. Prior to joining the bureau, Cordray served as the attorney general of Ohio where he built a record of protecting consumers from fraudulent disclosures and financial predators. Prior to that, Cordray was Ohio’s state treasurer, and in 2008 received a Financial Services Champion award from the U.S. Small Business Administration and a Government Service Award from NeighborWorks America.
Ambassador Norman Eisen will provide introductory remarks and moderate audience Q&A. This event will be live webcast. Join the conversation on Twitter at #CFPB.
Moderator
Norman L. Eisen, Visiting Fellow, Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution
Featured Speaker
Richard Cordray, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
http://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-cordray-consumer-financial-protection-mortgage?utm_campaign=Governance+Studies&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15546747&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9_hOLdRdjg0FHvD87Pv1z7DciHUcP18psizK6t729gjp5_gfD_z6n_4zCcA61EapZ8S-NOHoaA75fKEbt4ulkubxCg3g&_hsmi=15546747
agreed
Sorry if someone already posted this,
California Lawmaker Assigned to Two Housing Committees
Author: Brian Honea January 11, 2015
U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-California), a senior member of the House Finances Services Committee, was assigned to the Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Entities Subcommittee and the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee by HFS Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), according to an announcement from Royce's website on Friday.
Royce, who has been a member of the HFS Committee since 1995, is also the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee has jurisdiction over U.S. capital markets, the securities industry, and GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The function of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee is to oversee the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as government-sponsored insurance programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
"As a longtime advocate of eliminating the failed duopoly that is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, I look forward to completing the unfinished work of financial reform and passing legislation that returns long-term stability to the housing market," Royce said in a prepared statement. "Congress must act to ensure a sustainable housing system that ends taxpayer-funded bailouts and encourages private sector capital, investment and innovation. I'll also aim to reverse Dodd-Frank's failure to harmonize cross-border regulations, bring transparency and accountability to the regulatory bureaucracy, and shore up the financial system's defenses against cyber attacks."
On Wednesday, while many lawmakers and housing industry executives praised the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)'s decision to lower mortgage insurance premiums down to 0.85 percent, Royce had a different take.
"The president's decision reflects a race to the bottom between the FHA and the GSEs in which the private sector is crowded out and taxpayers are left holding the bag," he said in a statement on his website. "The financial crisis is proof positive that an increased government presence in housing distorts the market and promotes the very boom-and-bust cycle we are trying to avoid."
Just curious what you thought Chess. I think it's like page 22, letter from Treasury, second paragraph.
http://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/ig/Audit%20Reports%20and%20Testimonies/OIG-12-061.pdf
To which charity did you donate kingu1?
Ackman makes good on $10M charity promise
Fri, 9 Jan '15 | 6:57 PM ET
Reuters
William Ackman is putting his money where his mouth is.
Roughly two years after promising to donate his personal winnings from his controversial $1 billion bet against nutritional and weight-loss company Herbalife, the hedge fund titan is making good on the pledge with a $10 million donation to a scholarship charity, his foundation said.
Ackman's Pershing Square Foundation on Friday announced that TheDream.US, which helps immigrant youths pay for college, will receive the money over three years.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Bill Ackman joins Squawk Box on their first day at their new set in New York City.
The billionaire investor's hedge fund ended 2014 posting a 40 percent investment gain and ranking as one of the industry's best performers thanks largely to huge gains on his bet on Botox-maker Allergan.
Ackman's fund Pershing Square Capital Management pocketed an estimated $2.6 billion profit last year on its nearly 10 percent stake in Allergan.
Read More Bill Ackman: How Herbalife is like Bernie Madoff
His 2012 bet on the demise of Herbalife has been rockier but is also finally on the cusp of making some money after the company shares suffered recent heavy losses.
Herbalife stock closed 2015's first week of trading down 12 percent at $33.32, after a 51 percent decline in 2014. The price is now a smidgen below the $33.74 level it hit on Dec. 20, 2012 after Ackman first accused the company of running a pyramid scheme and predicted it would fold under regulatory scrutiny.
Read MoreKey architect of Soros' Herbalife bet is gone
Herbalife, which is being investigated by U.S. regulators and the FBI, has repeatedly denied Ackman's allegations, and some Ackman rivals like Carl Icahn are sticking with their big bets on the stock.
Ackman has spent at least $50 million in his campaign against Herbalife, and has vowed to pursue it "to the end of the earth." He is scheduled to speak in Chicago on Monday about how predatory practices and pyramid schemes impact Latinos, who he says have been targeted by Herbalife.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102326371
Agreed, they can't be shut down. Even Carney said back in 2010, they were too intertwined. :)
It seems a lot of realtor, mortgage broker combinations are out marketing themselves at the start of the new year, which is great! I need one. I have to ask each one, "What do you think of Fannie, Freddie?". The same answer, "for a while there was talk of them going away, but that's impossible, they aren't going anywhere.". That's the only answer, I have ever received.
doesn't have to
They'll be appeased, no problem. The big picture is that Fannie, Freddie employees have worked their butts off admidst all the speculation. They are tighter, leaner companies. Everyone knows how this will all shake out.
Fannie, Freddie are the only ones not showing data on the iPhone stock app. Other OTC stocks show up fine. I wonder why fnma, fmcc keep getting these glitches across different websites?
copied this from Fanofred post on stock twits,
thetruthaboutfannieandfreddie
THE TRUTH ABOUT FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC
New Senate Banking Comm. Ranking Member Sherrod Brown: “Eliminating Fannie and Freddie may not be necessary”
Sherrod Brown (D,OH) became the Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee this week. The article below is a little dated, but it conveys what Senator Brown thought of the the Johnson-Crapo bill.
Brown Says Fannie Mae Revamp Won’t Become Law This Year
By Cheyenne Hopkins – Apr 8, 2014
Senator Sherrod Brown said a comprehensive revamp of the U.S. housing finance system won’t become law this year and called for simpler changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Brown, an Ohio Democrat and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said a bipartisan bill to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is too complicated and doesn’t do enough to address too-big-to-fail concerns or provide assistance for affordable housing. The panel will consider the measure on April 29. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares rose.
“It’s not going to pass this year,” Brown said today at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in Washington. “If anything, it can get out of committee, I think it probably will.”
Brown said he didn’t know if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, would schedule the measure for full Senate consideration as the legislators deal with other business this year. There is also no serious effort to act on housing finance in the House of Representatives, he said.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, and Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho are pushing a measure that would phase out Fannie and Freddie in five years and replace them with a government re-insurer. Support is needed from key Democrats, including Brown, on the banking panel to pass the bill and move it to a Senate floor vote.
Broad backing among those Democrats will be necessary to persuade Reid to schedule a vote. Leadership aides have described Reid as lukewarm about dismantling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The bill by Johnson and Crapo is modeled after legislation introduced last year by Senators Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, and Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat. The measure would dismantle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which buy loans and package them into securities with guaranteed payments of principal and interest.
The U.S.-owned companies would be replaced by a system in which mortgages are mostly backed by private capital. The federal government would play a smaller role in the market by taking a backstop position on mortgage securities, stepping in only if private interests were wiped out by catastrophic losses.
It would create a Federal Mortgage Insurance Corporation to provide insurance for mortgage-backed securities. It also would allow banks to be an aggregator, guarantor, securitizer and lender of mortgages.
The bill relies on incentives to persuade financiers to lend to groups with higher risk profiles. Consumer and civil-rights advocates are pushing instead for a mandate that those groups must be served, a concept that has become a political flash point since the housing market collapsed.
Share Gain
Fannie Mae rose 2.6 percent to $4.02 as of 11:19 a.m. in New York. The stock is up from $3.01 on Dec. 31 and 90 cents a year ago. Freddie Mac climbed 2.5 percent, extending its gain for the year to about 39 percent. The mortgage companies dropped at least 27 percent on March 11 after leaders of the Senate Banking Committee announced their plan to eliminate the firms in a new bill.
Brown said the measure could allow for more concentration of too-big-to-fail banks. He said there could be simpler ways to replace Fannie and Freddie.
“The affordable housing standards issue and the duty to serve I think are important,” Brown said. “I don’t think they’re addressed in the way they should be. I think there is increasing sentiment I hear from people from all over the financial services sector, from Wall Street to community banks to credit unions, that say, ‘How is this going to work?’”
‘So Complicated’
He also said he doesn’t see pressure from the White House to move legislation since Gene Sperling, the former director of the National Economic Council, left the Obama administration. “Now that Gene’s gone, I feel a little less interest in the White House.”
Brown said eliminating Fannie and Freddie may not be necessary. Hedge funds have lobbied Congress to re-capitalize the companies instead of winding them down.
“That this isn’t as broken as it was, or it isn’t as broken as people think it is, doesn’t mean we defend it, doesn’t mean we don’t improve it, but we don’t do something so complicated,” Brown said.
The senator questioned why large banks should be allowed to operate both in the physical and trading commodities market. The Federal Reserve is seeking comments by April 16 on the risks posed by bank ownership and trading of commodities such as oil, gas and aluminum by deposit-taking banks and the possible benefits of imposing capital standards.
Goldman Sachs
The Fed’s action could increase pressure on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to sell its commodities businesses. The issue was spurred by hearings conducted last year by Brown, who said banks shouldn’t be in this business.
“I just don’t know why it’s good for our economy that these institutions, these big financial institutions, need to be in this ballpark,” Brown said.
Brown is a possible future chairman of the banking panel. Johnson is retiring after the 2014 election, which may lead to Brown’s elevation should some Democrats opt for other panel slots and the Democrats retain majority control of the Senate.
Of the banking chairmanship, Brown said, “Sure, I’d like it, but it’s mostly out of my control.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Cheyenne Hopkins in Washington at chopkins19@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jodi Schneider at jschneider50@bloomberg.net; Maura Reynolds at mreynolds34@bloomberg.net Dan Kraut
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-08/brown-says-fannie-mae-revamp-won-t-become-law-this-year.html
exactly
Huge deal that the civil rights group issued the statement. Huge, because they have the ear of Obama and Castro. They are probably letting Obama know what he should have said, or they could be clarifying for the rest of us after a bumbled speech. Either way, it's terrific news, well written, and expeditiously sent out! Thank you all for posting! Stickie, please!
Things looking better for Wynn today. Road trip!!! Check out the Ferrari room. Vegas is a good place for our fnma, fmcc pow wow. Take a poll of the most active realtors there of how much they use Fannie, Freddie and what they think of the fast, efficient service.
Why can't we recapitalize under conservatorship?
Can't let him talk about housing in Colorado. :)
He did say the "staff" wanted to miss the plane, stay a little longer in Phoenix.
Obama sounded completely different today than yesterday.