By filing a civil fraud suit in mid-December against former executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took an action that has benefits far beyond bringing justice for investors. Among other things, it ruined the holidays of some of the nation’s most prominent liberal commentators by exposing the flaws of their narrative blaming the “unfettered free market” for the housing meltdown. (more)
Key features of payroll tax and jobless benefits bill passed Friday by the House and Senate: (more)
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd announced he would take a leave of absence from the hedge fund he runs Wednesday, less than a week after being charged in connection with the 2008 financial crisis. (more)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued a former chief executive of Fannie Mae, Daniel Mudd, and a former chief executive of Freddie Mac, Richard Syron, Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Manhattan over disclosures they allegedly made about subprime home loans. (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday brought civil fraud charges against six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying they misled investors about risky subprime loans the mortgage giants held when the housing bubble burst. (more)
Kentucky GOP senator and tea party supporter Rand Paul blasted Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich Friday, calling the former House Speaker a “big government, status quo Republican.” (more)
Let’s be frank: In some corners of Washington, D.C., news of Rep. Barney Frank’s impending retirement was met with hoots and hollers, not sadness and regret. The nation’s most memorable gay congressional crusader has been at the center of controversy for decades, yet managed to avoid any serious political consequences. (more)
In a Wednesday appearance on Laura Ingraham’s radio show, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich repeated denials that he lobbied for Freddie Mac, echoing the line he used when confronted with similar questioning by CNBC’s John Harwood during a debate last week. According to Gingrich, his role with Freddie Mac was a consulting role. (more)
On Tuesday, an independent actuary released a report on the finances of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The report showed that FHA now has a 50% chance of requiring a taxpayer bailout in the near future. (more)
Remember the outrage from the administration over hefty bonuses paid to AIG executives in 2009? Back then, shortly after AIG was bailed out by American taxpayers, the company went through with already planned bonuses to top executives. (more)
Early last week, Americans discovered that nearly $13 million in bonuses were paid to 10 executives at the government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Just days before, the two entities had once again reported substantial quarterly losses and asked for another $13.8 billion in federal aid. Given that taxpayers have already provided nearly $170 billion to prop up these government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), it’s no surprise that there has been public outrage over the hefty bonuses. (more)
It is time to reform the housing finance system. Frankly, it was time three years ago when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs) were taken into conservatorship (a fancy way for the government to avoid technically declaring them bankrupt) back in August of 2008. Really, it was time in the early 2000s when the GSEs were going through an accounting scandal and contributing to the housing bubble with their low underwriting standards. Okay, yes, reform was ripe back in 1986 too when the Reagan administration failed to address the deduction of mortgage interest as a part of its broader tax reform. (more)
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae is asking the federal government for $7.8 billion in aid to cover its losses in the July-September quarter. (more)
When asked for his response to ten executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac receiving $12.79 million in bonuses, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said a “gag reflex in front of all you would be improper, that’s how I feel about it.” (more)
All aboard Dr. Barack Obama’s Magical Mystery Bus Tour! If you live in one of the lucky cities and towns along the way, you too can be blessed by our marvelous and mystical commander-in-chief dispensing money, cure-alls and taxpayer elixirs at a rate not seen since the last great presidential flim-flam artist, Bill Clinton, took to the hustings. (more)
I didn’t “occupy Wall Street,” though I spent enough hours working there that a sleeping bag could have come in handy. I can attest to one of the protesters’ claims about Wall Street bankers: While most are good and ethical people, they are supremely money-oriented and, like the bear that sniffed out a Payday in my trash, they’ll take the path of least resistance to find theirs. (more)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reportedly near a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over their failure to disclose to shareholders how heavily the firms had invested in subprime mortgages. (more)
The deadline for ending temporarily higher loan limits at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA is October 1st, but they are effectively ended now. (more)
Credit rating firm Standard & Poor’s downgraded the credit rating of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday, as part of a larger reassessment of U.S. debt holdings. (more)
UBS AG (UBSN) was sued by U.S. regulators over $4.5 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies operating under government control. (more)
