NEW YORK/WASHINGTON
A sign for a Bank of America office is pictured in Burbank, California August 19, 2011.
(Reuters) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (click here) sued 16 of the world's largest banks on Friday, accusing them of cheating dozens of other now defunct banks by manipulating the Libor interest rate.
A sign for a Bank of America office is pictured in Burbank, California August 19, 2011.
(Reuters) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (click here) sued 16 of the world's largest banks on Friday, accusing them of cheating dozens of other now defunct banks by manipulating the Libor interest rate.
The global financial institutions broke certain swaps contracts they had entered into with the now-closed banks, by separately colluding to rig the Libor rate to which the contracts were tied, the FDIC said.
Some
of the banks accused in the lawsuit, including Barclays Plc and UBS,
have already paid some $6 billion to resolve charges from U.S. and
European authorities that they worked to manipulate benchmark interest
rates....
The FDIC (click here) filed the lawsuit on behalf of 38 banks which went bankrupt at
the peak of the downturn in 2008, as a considerable part of the losses
for these banks were incurred on interest-rate derivative products sold
to them by the bigger banks. As the bigger banks were in a position to
influence the benchmark rates in a manner suitable to them when the
crisis hit, the losses on these products were exaggerated for the failed
banks, including Washington Mutual and IndyMac. The lawsuit names
U.S.-based banks Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup,
as well as other globally diversified banking groups as well as the
British Bankers’ Association which oversaw the LIBOR fixing process at
the time....
...With the manipulation in LIBOR rates affecting a wide spectrum of entities either directly or indirectly, responsible banks face an increasing number of lawsuits for their alleged involvement in the rigging. Last year, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae filed similar lawsuits against banking giants after the Federal Housing Finance Agency estimated that the two government-sponsored enterprises incurred at least $3 billion in losses from the LIBOR manipulation....
Dozens of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders (click here) flocked to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to rail against a Senate proposal that they say would trample on the rights of the mortgage giants’ investors, the latest in a frenzied push to influence the housing finance debate.
In the past two weeks, three groups have weighed in forcefully on the Senate legislation, which seeks to dismantle D.C.-based Fannie and McLean-based Freddie, replace them with a new entity and shift more of the risks of mortgage lending to the private sector...
Let's just throw this to Roberts and let him deal with it. That has been the methodology of Republicans. They have a yellow streak up their back and can't handle the fact the legislative process actually can solve the problems of a nation. The answer Republicans have is to pass legislation that will dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Once that has passed the Senate then the stockholders can sue and the Roberts' Court will dispose of the entire mess and the political toll will never be paid.
...On Wednesday, about 50 Fannie and Freddie shareholders went to Capitol Hill to deliver the message. Investors Unite, launched by Tennessee money manager Timothy J. Pagliara, organized the visit with support from consumer activist Ralph Nader, a vocal critic of the government’s treatment of the shareholders.
“This needs to be solved in Congress,” Pagliara, chief executive of CapWealth Advisors, said at a news conference to kick off the event. His firm’s clients own 8 million shares of Fannie and Freddie preferred stock. “It’s a cowardly act to throw that back at the court system.”
Shareholders responded with rowdy applause and waved signs that read “Shareholders Have Rights” and “Don’t Wipe Us Out.” Pagliara said the event was designed to highlight that the Fannie and Freddie debate affects 9-to-5 working people, not just monied hedge funds and institutional investors looking for a tidy profit....
Global Economic Collapse II - Sequel to end all sequels. It is called the House and Senate Republicans wash their hands in a corrupt Supreme Court.
...The Senate proposal is “insufficient” when it comes to protecting homeowners, taxpayers and investors, said Blackwell, a Republican who has served as undersecretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and mayor of Cincinnati. His group plans to go national with its message via social media, traditional news outlets and town-hall meetings once its puts together a bipartisan team, Blackwell said....
...Founded in 1992, (click here) the 60 Plus Association is a non-partisan seniors advocacy group with a free enterprise, less government, less taxes approach to seniors issues. 60 Plus has set ending the federal estate tax and saving Social Security for the young as its top priorities. 60 Plus is often viewed as the conservative alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)....
60 Plus official poem (click here)
Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Tax his pants, tax his coat,
Tax his crops, tax his work,
Tax his ties, tax his shirt.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Teach him taxes are a rule,
Tax his oil, tax his gas,
Tax his notes, tax his cash;
Tax him good and let him know,
After his taxes he has no dough.
If he hollers, tax him more;
Tax him ’til he’s good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb:
“Taxes drove me to my doom.”
And after he’s gone, he can’t relax;
They’ll soon be after his Inheritance Tax!
-Anonymous
By
...The legislation (click here) builds on a plan by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) that would replace Fannie and Freddie with a new entity — the Federal Mortgage Insurance Corp. — and shift more of the risks of mortgage lending to the private sector....
...The plan calls for underwriting standards that would mandate a 5 percent down payment from borrowers, though it would carve out an exception for first-time home buyers, who would have to put 3.5 percent down.
It also eliminates the affordable-housing goals at Fannie and Freddie and instead sets aside a fund paid for byindustry fees that would go toward ensuring the availability of affordable housing, the statement said.
Housing finance experts who have been tracking the issue say that simply having the two top leaders of the Senate banking committee come to agreement on this topic is significant in that it gives the Senate a starting point for debate on the issue.
But not this year, not even if there is broad support for getting rid of Fannie and Freddie, said Brian Gardner, a senior vice president at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
“I’m skeptical that the majority leader wants to put vulnerable Democrats in the awkward position of taking tough votes on the housing finance system,” Gardner said.
Even if the Senate moved swiftly, the House would not, said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, who predicted the bill would be dead on arrival....
The Secondary Mortgage Markets are the same things as Mortgage Backed Securities. It is that reason the conservatorship of these government supported programs began under Bush and Paulson.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
...Authorities see Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (click here) as crucial to the recovery of the housing market. They have funded 70 percent of home loans in recent months. A reduction in their activities could send mortgage rates that ordinary home buyers pay soaring and result in a new, deeper crisis for the already reeling housing market.
Moreover, regulators are trying to prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's problems from triggering a new wave of failures among banks, which hold vast reserves of bonds and preferred shares issued by the two firms.
The plan would not resolve the larger question about the future of the two companies -- whether they should be nationalized, privatized or maintain their current structure. Those options have been intensely debated within the government and among financial experts. Some proposals would dramatically change how home mortgages are funded in this country....
This is bigger than the GM bailout. It is how Americans obtain mortgages and the terms in which they obtain them. There are many that simply have wanted to dissolve these agencies, but, it is about housing and how to address the need for this type of government involvement and housing affordability.
By JACKIE CALMES
Published: August 6, 2013
...With the manipulation in LIBOR rates affecting a wide spectrum of entities either directly or indirectly, responsible banks face an increasing number of lawsuits for their alleged involvement in the rigging. Last year, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae filed similar lawsuits against banking giants after the Federal Housing Finance Agency estimated that the two government-sponsored enterprises incurred at least $3 billion in losses from the LIBOR manipulation....
Dozens of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders (click here) flocked to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to rail against a Senate proposal that they say would trample on the rights of the mortgage giants’ investors, the latest in a frenzied push to influence the housing finance debate.
In the past two weeks, three groups have weighed in forcefully on the Senate legislation, which seeks to dismantle D.C.-based Fannie and McLean-based Freddie, replace them with a new entity and shift more of the risks of mortgage lending to the private sector...
Let's just throw this to Roberts and let him deal with it. That has been the methodology of Republicans. They have a yellow streak up their back and can't handle the fact the legislative process actually can solve the problems of a nation. The answer Republicans have is to pass legislation that will dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Once that has passed the Senate then the stockholders can sue and the Roberts' Court will dispose of the entire mess and the political toll will never be paid.
...On Wednesday, about 50 Fannie and Freddie shareholders went to Capitol Hill to deliver the message. Investors Unite, launched by Tennessee money manager Timothy J. Pagliara, organized the visit with support from consumer activist Ralph Nader, a vocal critic of the government’s treatment of the shareholders.
“This needs to be solved in Congress,” Pagliara, chief executive of CapWealth Advisors, said at a news conference to kick off the event. His firm’s clients own 8 million shares of Fannie and Freddie preferred stock. “It’s a cowardly act to throw that back at the court system.”
Shareholders responded with rowdy applause and waved signs that read “Shareholders Have Rights” and “Don’t Wipe Us Out.” Pagliara said the event was designed to highlight that the Fannie and Freddie debate affects 9-to-5 working people, not just monied hedge funds and institutional investors looking for a tidy profit....
Global Economic Collapse II - Sequel to end all sequels. It is called the House and Senate Republicans wash their hands in a corrupt Supreme Court.
...The Senate proposal is “insufficient” when it comes to protecting homeowners, taxpayers and investors, said Blackwell, a Republican who has served as undersecretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and mayor of Cincinnati. His group plans to go national with its message via social media, traditional news outlets and town-hall meetings once its puts together a bipartisan team, Blackwell said....
...Founded in 1992, (click here) the 60 Plus Association is a non-partisan seniors advocacy group with a free enterprise, less government, less taxes approach to seniors issues. 60 Plus has set ending the federal estate tax and saving Social Security for the young as its top priorities. 60 Plus is often viewed as the conservative alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)....
60 Plus official poem (click here)
Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Tax his pants, tax his coat,
Tax his crops, tax his work,
Tax his ties, tax his shirt.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Teach him taxes are a rule,
Tax his oil, tax his gas,
Tax his notes, tax his cash;
Tax him good and let him know,
After his taxes he has no dough.
If he hollers, tax him more;
Tax him ’til he’s good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb:
“Taxes drove me to my doom.”
And after he’s gone, he can’t relax;
They’ll soon be after his Inheritance Tax!
-Anonymous
By
...The legislation (click here) builds on a plan by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) that would replace Fannie and Freddie with a new entity — the Federal Mortgage Insurance Corp. — and shift more of the risks of mortgage lending to the private sector....
...The plan calls for underwriting standards that would mandate a 5 percent down payment from borrowers, though it would carve out an exception for first-time home buyers, who would have to put 3.5 percent down.
It also eliminates the affordable-housing goals at Fannie and Freddie and instead sets aside a fund paid for byindustry fees that would go toward ensuring the availability of affordable housing, the statement said.
Housing finance experts who have been tracking the issue say that simply having the two top leaders of the Senate banking committee come to agreement on this topic is significant in that it gives the Senate a starting point for debate on the issue.
But not this year, not even if there is broad support for getting rid of Fannie and Freddie, said Brian Gardner, a senior vice president at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
“I’m skeptical that the majority leader wants to put vulnerable Democrats in the awkward position of taking tough votes on the housing finance system,” Gardner said.
Even if the Senate moved swiftly, the House would not, said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, who predicted the bill would be dead on arrival....
The Secondary Mortgage Markets are the same things as Mortgage Backed Securities. It is that reason the conservatorship of these government supported programs began under Bush and Paulson.
By Zachary A. Goldfarb, David Cho and Binyamin Appelbaum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 7, 2008
...Authorities see Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (click here) as crucial to the recovery of the housing market. They have funded 70 percent of home loans in recent months. A reduction in their activities could send mortgage rates that ordinary home buyers pay soaring and result in a new, deeper crisis for the already reeling housing market.
Moreover, regulators are trying to prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's problems from triggering a new wave of failures among banks, which hold vast reserves of bonds and preferred shares issued by the two firms.
The plan would not resolve the larger question about the future of the two companies -- whether they should be nationalized, privatized or maintain their current structure. Those options have been intensely debated within the government and among financial experts. Some proposals would dramatically change how home mortgages are funded in this country....
This is bigger than the GM bailout. It is how Americans obtain mortgages and the terms in which they obtain them. There are many that simply have wanted to dissolve these agencies, but, it is about housing and how to address the need for this type of government involvement and housing affordability.
By JACKIE CALMES
Published: August 6, 2013
...Mr. Obama on Tuesday (click here) endorsed the thrust of bipartisan legislation from a
Senate group that would “end Fannie and Freddie as we know them.” The
so-called government-sponsored enterprises for decades bought and sold
mortgages from financial institutions to provide money for the banks to
keep lending to home buyers.
Under Mr. Obama’s principles, which he said were reflected in the Senate
bill taking shape, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would further shrink
their portfolios and lose the implicit guarantee of a federal government
bailout. Instead, private investors would be most at risk, with the
government a secondary guarantor.
“First, private capital should take a bigger role in the mortgage
markets. I know that sounds confusing to folks who call me a socialist,”
Mr. Obama said, drawing laughs and applause. “I believe that our
housing system should operate where there’s a limited government role,”
he added, “and private lending should be the backbone of the housing
market.”
The president said that any measure he signed into law “should preserve
access to safe and simple mortgage products like the 30-year, fixed-rate
mortgage....
Currently, a mortgage is written by a bank or other institution and then sold to a securities company, ie: Fanni Mae or Freddie Mac. When the lending institution sells the mortgage it then returns liquid capital back so it can do it all over again.
That is how citizens end up in a vicious cycle of bureaucracies that are nameless and faceless. The consumer ends up without power to even address inaccuracies in handling the mortgages without incurring court costs best burdened by the securities firm. It is how foreclosures occur with robo signatures and automated foreclosure notices regardless of the true status of the mortgage.
The problem is the foreclosure rate is leveled out at about 4 percent. That is still far higher than the average. The USA also has a larger impoverished population and while they attempt to reach home ownership it is a struggle to keep it. While it would be nice to return to a baseline of one percent foreclosure or less, the average American household today does not reflect that goal. So, where do we go from here? The idea President Obama has is to create affordable rental housing until Americans can move into the opportunity to home ownership. I don't see how that is a Democratic dilemma.
If the statistics show Americans are still failing at a higher rate than previous to the 2008 Global Economic Collapse then the current system is not working. HOWEVER, it is not working because of American incomes, not necessarily because mortgages and/or housing is not available.
President Obama is correct in that affordable rental housing would solve the IMMEDIATE problem, however, it would not at all solve the extended problem. The answer to the extended problem is to raise incomes to Americans and make it possible ONCE AGAIN to actually reach INCOME SECURITY that allows for home ownership.
It is about the American income and it's stability. Ending the Wall Street gaming of American lives and entering into stable economies has to take priorities. That doesn't happen overnight and while things are looking up, especially in the past month, there is a need for real stability to build communities that are sustainable.
Kerri Ann Panchuk
October 9, 2013 10:43AM
...But what does a Yellen (click here) pick mean for the mortgage-backed securities
investors who have grown accustomed to not only Fed intervention via
quantitative easing and ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy), but a constant stimulus in the form of the
Fed buying up to $40 billion in MBS (mortgage-backed securities) each month?
"This was expected," said Paul Miller, managing director with FBR Capital Markets. "It’s a bone to the market, saying we are going to continue to have an easy money supply until this economy starts to pick up steam."
He added, "She is a big supporter of the MBS buying spree, so mortgage rates will go down, not up, with this particular appointment."
As for when a Yellen-led Fed will grant a pullback in QE, that decision is likely to revolve around the unemployment rate....
That is how citizens end up in a vicious cycle of bureaucracies that are nameless and faceless. The consumer ends up without power to even address inaccuracies in handling the mortgages without incurring court costs best burdened by the securities firm. It is how foreclosures occur with robo signatures and automated foreclosure notices regardless of the true status of the mortgage.
If the statistics show Americans are still failing at a higher rate than previous to the 2008 Global Economic Collapse then the current system is not working. HOWEVER, it is not working because of American incomes, not necessarily because mortgages and/or housing is not available.
President Obama is correct in that affordable rental housing would solve the IMMEDIATE problem, however, it would not at all solve the extended problem. The answer to the extended problem is to raise incomes to Americans and make it possible ONCE AGAIN to actually reach INCOME SECURITY that allows for home ownership.
It is about the American income and it's stability. Ending the Wall Street gaming of American lives and entering into stable economies has to take priorities. That doesn't happen overnight and while things are looking up, especially in the past month, there is a need for real stability to build communities that are sustainable.
Kerri Ann Panchuk
October 9, 2013 10:43AM
"This was expected," said Paul Miller, managing director with FBR Capital Markets. "It’s a bone to the market, saying we are going to continue to have an easy money supply until this economy starts to pick up steam."
He added, "She is a big supporter of the MBS buying spree, so mortgage rates will go down, not up, with this particular appointment."
As for when a Yellen-led Fed will grant a pullback in QE, that decision is likely to revolve around the unemployment rate....
Chairwoman Yellin wants more than anything to have normalcy return to the American consumer. She can't do it alone, but, weaning Wall Street off 'easy money' is one way to return balance.
If the financial sector actually has to take risk to secure incomes to stockholders, there is a very good chance the American consumer will become esteemed once again. If Wall Street has to be responsible for 'growth' it has to increase salaries to consumers and 'independently' redistribute the wealth. By backing off on ZIRP and QE, Wall Street will be forced to reassess it's money supply and realize it can't continue to enforce slave labor among vast numbers of consumers and continue to be successful.
Wall Street does not like risk. What better than easy money such as QE without any risk. Or, better yet, borrowing money without an interest rate. But, when those options end Wall Street is going to have to look to other ways of REDUCING RISK. Housing is a large part of liquid assets and if the American Consumer has to prove to be 'less of a risk' to insure growth and stockholder income, the companies will have to pay their employees good wages and grow with that increased liquidity in the market place.
Remember how we turned this mess around? Do you? There was subsidies to the American Income by reducing taxes to consumers. That has ended because it had to end to begin to return balance to government income and expenditures. THE NATIONAL BUDGET. The Yellin approach is exactly the same thing but bigger. Chairman Yellin wants all the 'normal' stresses to return to the American Market Place, including the DEMAND by consumers for good wages and fair prices. Not dirt cheap living that has to settle for substandard products from places where American jobs are outsourced, but, a sustainable free market system that actually works for everyone.
Why would Democrats be afraid of any of this? It is about the Middle Class and how to return it to function and majority. It is where Democrats live.
If the financial sector actually has to take risk to secure incomes to stockholders, there is a very good chance the American consumer will become esteemed once again. If Wall Street has to be responsible for 'growth' it has to increase salaries to consumers and 'independently' redistribute the wealth. By backing off on ZIRP and QE, Wall Street will be forced to reassess it's money supply and realize it can't continue to enforce slave labor among vast numbers of consumers and continue to be successful.
Wall Street does not like risk. What better than easy money such as QE without any risk. Or, better yet, borrowing money without an interest rate. But, when those options end Wall Street is going to have to look to other ways of REDUCING RISK. Housing is a large part of liquid assets and if the American Consumer has to prove to be 'less of a risk' to insure growth and stockholder income, the companies will have to pay their employees good wages and grow with that increased liquidity in the market place.
Remember how we turned this mess around? Do you? There was subsidies to the American Income by reducing taxes to consumers. That has ended because it had to end to begin to return balance to government income and expenditures. THE NATIONAL BUDGET. The Yellin approach is exactly the same thing but bigger. Chairman Yellin wants all the 'normal' stresses to return to the American Market Place, including the DEMAND by consumers for good wages and fair prices. Not dirt cheap living that has to settle for substandard products from places where American jobs are outsourced, but, a sustainable free market system that actually works for everyone.
Why would Democrats be afraid of any of this? It is about the Middle Class and how to return it to function and majority. It is where Democrats live.
