Zounds! Saw a tweet about this a few minutes ago.
Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris asked the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the agency regulating the government-controlled mortgage titans, to halt foreclosures until it has completed a "thorough, transparent analysis of whether principal reduction is in the best interests of struggling homeowners as well as taxpayers."
This comes on the heels of a mortgage fraud settlement Harris finally agreed to with forty-eight other Attorneys General, after holding out for months to get a better deal, which she ultimately obtained. But the deal did not include anything having to do with Fannie or Freddie, only five of the largest miscreant banks.
Unfortunately Harris' request is likely to be met with stonewalling by the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Edward DeMarco. One possible reason:
Previously, Harris has called on Edward DeMarco to step down as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. She has accused him of not doing enough for borrowers.
Another...
Last year, Harris sued Fannie and Freddie after they refused to answer subpoenas regarding their mortgage and foreclosure practices. That case is pending.
And finally DeMarco is
a holdover from the Bush Administration
Congress has refused to appoint President Obama's nominee, Joseph Smith. Smith, as you might imagine from previous Obama appointments, is a centrist choice who should have been entirely non-controversial. He's a highly qualified and competent choice who has worked for banks as an attorney as well as having served as a regulator.
Smith isn't an ideologue -- but Edward DeMarco and his senior managers are. DeMarco's the Acting Director of the FHFA. He's still in charge because, three years after he was elected, Obama has been unable to get his choice approved.
Nonetheless, the simple fact that Harris, the Attorney General of the largest state in the nation, has asked for a foreclosure moratorium, "changes the discussion",as many have said Occupy Wall Street did with respect to the rich paying their fair share.
Banks have indeed been bailed out. It's time that Edward DeMarco stopped selling the rest of us out. Perhaps Kamala Harris can help that along.
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Hmmm. I guess this isn't breaking. So I took 'BREAKING' out of the title. The LA times article is dated tomorrow, and I hadn't seen anything about this before just a few minutes ago, so I thought it was. But the HuffPost article I link to in this paragraph is dated ten hours ago.
I find it pretty strange that I didn't see anything about this before.
Mon Feb 27, 2012 at 9:59 PM PT: More on Fannie & Freddie:
Currently, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy up three out of every four mortgages issued in the United States in order to keep the housing market alive. The companies then bundle up those loans, about $100 billion worth per month, and sell them to investors.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...