It is hard for me to believe this. Treasury Secretary Geithner testified today before a congressional panel that the administration is considering creating another federal agency in order to protect consumers from certain financial and mortgage products.
I don't even hardly know what to say about this.
Where were the existing federal agencies when the mortgage meltdown was developing? How will another agency do better?
Why does anyone think that the problem was a lack of federal agencies?
Surely someone from FHFA, HUD, FHA, Treasury, Federal Reserve, VA, Rural Development, FDIC, or the FTC can be found.
Maybe he was just brainstorming with Congress.
Maybe someone will give a comment that shows how this makes sense. How the problem was a lack of federal agencies.
Good grief. More ways to screw up the economy and pass the blame.
The problem was not with a lack of oversight, it is what they allowed the long time members of our government to do to cover the problems.
It was never a good thing to force banks to make loans to those that couldn't afford it just in the interest of "being fair" a la the Community Reinvestment Act and the like. Or, even better, allowing the illegals to purchase with no docs. Well there was never any need to repay the loans when you can just pick up and move on.
This administration has said their goal is to grow government and this is just another way to do it.
Remember the RTC- Resolution Trust Company-that helped divest the failed savings and loans of their assets? Well, the government in their infinite wisdom hired those same presidents and upper management of the S & L's to work for the RTC. I don't get it.
I too hope someone can explain it to us.
I was planning on commenting but I'm not really sure there is anything I can say that would make any sense. The best I can come up with is to quote Forest Gump "...stupid is as stupid does...".
Kathy,
I'm with you. Just don't know what to say.
Richard
Another waste of tax payer money. The existing regulatory departments are adequate enough without the need for an additional federal agency. What they need are actual regulators within these existing agencies. Honestly, the federal government should step back with this and allow HUD, FNMA, etc. to regulate these loans, appraisals, etc. themselves.
This is once again a total waste of time and solves nothing. The answers to most of the problems lie within two distinct areas: Qualifying and Accountability.
In past years, many borrowers were poorly qualified because noone wanted to say no to an unqualified borrower because there was always out there would do the loan regardless. These borrowers were high risk and loans were made anyway.
Accountability. Borrowers, as well as real estate professionals should be accountable for their actions. We do our jobs professionally, but unfortunately, not all professionals conduct themselves in the same manner. Borrowers are too frequently over spending and bankrupting, which defaults the system. Other just allow the homes to foreclose with little investment in the home, they have really lost nothing. Foreclosures and bankruptcies should be a last case scenario as a result of unfortunate circumstances, not as a get out of jail free card from spending irresponsibility.
We all pay for this irresponsibility in more ways than just one. The ramifications of foreclosures and bankruptcies should be more severe, to limit these cases to only the most dire circumstances. This would truly represent a last case scenario for a bankruptcy or foreclosure. There is little to no punishment for a bankruptcy or foreclosure now, excpet a hit on your credit score, but I am guessing, many of these people already have weak credit scores, so what is the big deal?
Donnie,
Good to read your comments, and to hear from a Chattanooga voice on Active Rain. You evidently were not signed into AR when you posted the comments.
Glad to see you here.
Richard
You can't understand why taking money out of our pockets that would help stimulate the economy to create another agency to help protect us from ourselves would help? We are the government, we are here to help... Don't you feel the same comfort level I do when you hear those words? We should be scared!
Todd,
Thanks for helping it make more sense?
But really my hope is that he was just brainstorming and the idea is not really on the table. Just cannot fathom creating another agency - maybe a super agency, with oversight over HUD, FTC, FHFA (which oversees FNMA and Freddie).
Have a great weekend.
Richard