|
Not found what you are looking for? Try Google search:
|
|
http://www.news-from-newspapers.com has found the following results regarding
mortgage loan originator
Greenspan slams Freddie, Fannie again
By Alister Bull ATLANTA (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan took aim on Thursday yet again at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while other U.S. central bankers spoke about bank regulation. None discussed the current economy. In addition to Greenspan, Federal Reserve Board Governor Susan Bies said the Fed would understand if some U.S. banks opted to stay under the framework of the Basel I accord on capital adequacy rather than move to Basel II. Governor Mark Olson spoke on the bank clearing of checks. Greenspan's comments were by far the sharpest as he leveled a barrage of criticism at the two
mortgage giants, which the Fed says have used their implicit Federal guarantee to make a mountain of money. "The Federal Reserve Board has been unable to find any credible purpose for the huge balance sheets built by Fannie and Freddie other than the creation of profit through the exploitation of the market-granted subsidy," Greenspan said in a speech that he delivered via video link to a housing conference hosted by the Atlanta Fed. He said those holdings, which total about $1.5 trillion, do not support homeownership and neither increase the availability of long-term fixed-rate
mortgages nor lower borrowing rates for homebuyers, and he argued that they should be diversified into liquid debt like U.S. government bonds. "Indeed, only such highly liquid portfolios would be consistent with the (government-sponsored enterprises') mission of providing primary
mortgage market liquidity during a crisis, particularly during a financial crisis," Greenspan said. The central bank chief has urged Congress to cut the size of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolios and warned that failure to act put the entire U.S. financial system in peril, including the very home
loan borrowers that Fannie and Freddie exist to help. "Without the needed restrictions on the size of the GSE (government sponsored enterprise) balance sheets, we put at risk our ability to preserve safe and sound financial markets in the United States, a key ingredient of support for housing," he said. Fannie and Freddie are shareholder-owned companies charged by Congress with supporting home ownership by ensuring a liquid
mortgage market. To do this, they buy home
loans from
originators and repackage them as securities for sale to investors. BIES ON BASEL Continued ...
Source: reuters.com