CFPB acts as an autonomous entity with no balancing supervision from the POTUS or other highly-placed Executive Branch supervisors. The court ruling says that the Director has too much power and, thus, functions as an unregulated regulator with too much power to act unilaterally. Some believe that the precedent in this case can be applied to FHFA, as well, leading to an end to conservatorship or a discrediting of HERA which seems to empower the FHFA Director in similar fashion.
That would be the upside to such a ruling for Fannie shareholders. But wait. There's more. It's not all sunshine and roses in this ruling.
Part of the discovery/document brouhaha focuses on seeking support for claims that UST or the POTUS may have violated HERA which states that FHFA must act in a fully autonomous way but they interfered with the process, making such actions illegal. So applying this new precedent, you could impose new rules on FHFA or have it or HERA ruled unconstitutional, have limitations imposed upon them by the court, etc. But in doing this, plaintiff's would also let Treasury and the Government off the hook for any settlement or damages because their actions actually keptFHFA within constitutionalboundaries. So, in short, there goes all the money for huge S/P wins in Fanniegate since the U.S. has it and FHFA or FNMA or FMCC do not. So... it is very unlikely that this ruling will ever be introduced to any pending Fanniegate case. Put your pom-poms down, yet?
But wait. There's more.
The ruling actually was the near equivalent of absolving a big bank, PHH, who is a major real estate mortgage originator. Sort of like a TBTF bank. The suit was brought by an attorney active in Fanniegate proceedings, as well, and challenged the CFPB's Director's decision to increase a fine for illegal bribes/kickbacks @ PHH from around $6 M to around $109 M. So the ruling just let a bank off the hook for any fine for wrongdoing, which would be the OPPOSITE effect of the Wells Fargo stuff that has been used to discredit big banking's possible privatization of FnF's insurance business and the backing of MBS. So the Fanniegate lawyer got the TBTF bank off the hook. Stillexcited about this?
So this ruling is not all good news, except for PHH that gets off for bribery? Things just seem to get presented that way like every other hunt for something, anything positive to offset the gloom of ZERO PROGRESS for what seems like an investor eternity.
Spin on,though. LOL. Talk about lemmings...
JMHO.
