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Posts Tagged ‘Fannie Mae’

Fannie, Freddie Summit Preview

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 16th, 2010 4:03 PM |

In June 2009, I highlighted the expectation of massive losses within Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in writing Uncle Sam’s Dirty Little Secret. Fourteen months and hundreds of billions of dollars in losses later, America awaits to see how our ‘wizards in Washington’ will look to deal with these housing ‘wards of the state.’ Tomorrow, the Obama administration hosts the “Conference on the Future of Housing Finance.”

In anticipation of this conference, this past April the Obama administration had asked for input as to how our housing finance system might work. I wrote then (and would like to resubmit now), Sense on Cents Responds to Obama Administration Request for Input:

President Obama wants input on the reform of the housing finance system. Given my career, I consider myself eminently qualified to give it to him. Despite this request, though, I still think he should focus on job creation (which he highlighted during his State of the Union address).

I welcome giving President Obama, Treasury Secretary Geithner, and the rest of the the White House economic team a very healthy dose of Sense on Cents. (My response is a little lengthy, but it is not everyday the President gives us this opportunity. Out of respect, I owe him my best effort.) I will let you know if they respond with anything more than a form letter, or if they do not respond at all. From the U.S. Treasury today:

Obama Administration Seeks Public Input on
Reform of the Housing Finance System (more…)

Caroline Herron’s Lawsuit Targets Fannie Mae’s Mismanagement of Mortgage Modification Program

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 11th, 2010 7:17 AM |

Have executives at Fannie Mae worked to benefit their own financial interests versus promoting the well being of American taxpayers and homeowners looking to permanently modify their mortgages? Is Fannie Mae merely a perpetual train wreck or has something even more nefarious gone on inside the halls of our national stepchild?

In recently reviewing The Center for Public Integrity, I was not shocked — but certainly dismayed — to read Whistleblower: Fannie Mae Bungled HAMP Anti-Foreclosure Program,

Fannie Mae executives bungled their stewardship of the federal government’s massive foreclosure-prevention campaign, creating a bureaucratic muddle characterized by “mismanagement and gross waste of public funds,” according to a whistleblower lawsuit by a former Fannie Mae executive and consultant. (more…)

Franklin Raines Must Have Amnesia

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 4th, 2010 1:25 PM |

Former Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines

Whatever happened to the virtues of taking responsibility and ownership for issues? Why do I hold so many senior executives in our financial industry in disdain? For the very simple reason that I have seen very few of these execs stand up and be counted. All too many of them point the finger elsewhere, use the convenient excuse of ‘the perfect storm,’ or develop a convenient case of amnesia.

Who is a fine examplar of the last category? Former Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae Franklin Raines who wrote into The Wall Street Journal yesterday on the topic of the demise of our two step-children, Fannie and Freddie. Raines promotes that the downfall of these organizations and the enormous burden they now put on American taxpayers were simply the result of the excessive credit risks taken by Freddie and Fannie from 2005-2007. Raines writes, Poor Credit Judgments Sank Fannie and Freddie:

The facts about the financial collapse of Fannie and Freddie are pretty clear and a matter of public record. (more…)

Mortgage Servicers Are Hugely Conflicted

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 23rd, 2010 12:57 PM |

Information is everything. Those who control the information have immense power. The allegiances of those in control of the info obviously have an enormous impact on how the information is processed and dispensed. The potential for conflicts of interest are significant. Standard business fare, correct? Have these conflicts played out on Wall Street? All too often. How so?

I have repeatedly highlighted the conflicts within our financial regulatory structure. We also know that the credit rating agencies have been enormously conflicted. Anywhere else? Let’s enter the world of mortgage servicing, ….. (more…)

Are Fannie and Freddie Going to Sue Wall Street?

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 12th, 2010 3:21 PM |

Are there some dark legal clouds beginning to hover over the Wall Street landscape? How so? The threats of impending lawsuits are never a forecast any individual, entity, or industry care to entertain. Like it or not, Wall Street is beginning to get some ground cover in the forms of pending legal actions.

While a large mortgage investor, Cambridge Place Investment Management, recently filed a complaint against virtually every firm on Wall Street in the Massachusetts courts, today we see none other than our ‘wards of the state’ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preparing the initial steps to bring suit against Wall Street. Could it be possible that Fannie and Freddie would sue Wall Street? Is a potential lawsuit political cover for Uncle Sam? Who knows? (more…)

Fraudulent ‘Flopping’ of Homes

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 10th, 2010 11:21 AM |

As day follows night, financial fraud follows economic distress. God forbid people try to make an honest living as opposed to seizing opportunities to make a dishonest buck. This financial artifice is on display in the short sales of homes throughout our country.

Bloomberg highlights this fraudulent activity in reporting, Banks Face Short-Sale Fraud as Home ‘Flopping’ Schemes Spread:

Two Connecticut real estate agents found a way to profit in the U.S. housing bust: Buy low, sell fast. Their tactic was also illegal. (more…)

FHLB San Francisco Earthquake

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 3rd, 2010 11:52 AM |

I first introduced readers of Sense on Cents to issues embedded within the Federal Home Loan Bank system in the spring of 2009. In an article entitled FHLBs: Red Sea, Dead Sea or Both?, I highlighted:

Charles Bowsher, the former chair of FHLB’s Office of Finance sent a warning shot loud and clear about the “hidden and embedded” losses in this system when he resigned his position as chair of the FHLB Office of Finance in late March (2009). As Bloomberg reported on April 2nd:

Bowsher, who was comptroller general of the U.S. from 1981 to 1996, had a simple reason for resigning last week as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank System’s Office of Finance. He didn’t want to put his name on the banks’ combined financial statements, because he was uncomfortable vouching for them.

Well, the shot Bowsher sent a year ago reverberated today in the form an earthquake as reported by the American Banker, Questioning Marks on Mortgage Bonds at San Francisco FHLB:>>>> (more…)

Indict, Prosecute, Convict the Fraudsters…Or Else!!

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 2nd, 2010 1:20 PM |

Has America lost the courage to aggressively address those who commit fraud? Is the American public even aware of the massive fraud perpetrated by those in our financial system which led to our current economic crisis? Are those in Washington willing to take a stand, risk their own skins, call out those engaged in fraud, even if some of the fraudsters occupy neighboring seats at nearby regulatory bodies?

Unless we find people in our government who are willing to make these calls, repeat them publicly in a long, loud fashion, and compel prosecutors to issue indictments, then I fear our union will pay a price and incur a cost that may be immeasurable.

Why so strong? Why so strident? (more…)

Forget Daniel Mudd. Let’s Cross Examine Franklin Raines, Tim Howard, and James Johnson

Posted by Larry Doyle on April 9th, 2010 4:19 PM |

Former CEO of Fannie Mae Daniel Mudd took the stand today to get grilled by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. Ooooohhh, ahhhhh….what did we learn from Mr. Mudd? Very little. Although Mr. Mudd fed at the Fannie trough for a good number of years and was paid tens of millions of dollars during his tenure, the fact is he only took over the reins in what amounted to the bottom of the eighth inning.

If the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission truly wanted to serve America’s interests, they would shine the bright lights on three former Fannie execs who cultivated a culture which, in my opinion and others, allowed for Fannie Mae to cook their books while effectively paying off their friends up on the Hill. Who are these execs? (more…)

Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae Deja Vu?: Part II

Posted by Larry Doyle on April 8th, 2010 11:51 AM |

On Christmas Eve 2009, the Obama administration provided a blank check to the wards of the state known as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. (“Fannie and Freddie’s Huge Christmas Bonus”)

What other quasi-government institutions have a very similar business profile as Freddie and Fannie? The Federal Home Loan Bank system, acronym FHLBs, commonly referred to within the financial industry as FLUBs. I will reserve comment on that moniker. Ten months ago, I questioned whether the dynamics at work within the FHLB system would be the equivalent of what has transpired at Freddie and Fannie. I wrote “Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae Deja Vu?” and highlighted:

Can our economy absorb another financial hit of the magnitude of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae? (more…)

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