Otting
SimSla
OTTING in Politico Pro: "Our goal is to be able to complete the release of the GSEs but at the same time make sure that it supports the U.S. housing market." #GSE’s #fanniegate Sorry Parrott, Stevens, Stegman, Corker, Zandi, Light, Carney... you cant bend reality forever.
XXX
neo
SimSla
Full text:
Otting: ‘A lot’ can get done during acting FHFA tenure
By Victoria Guida
01/10/2019 12:45 PM EDT
Joseph Otting, who took over as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency this week, said today there’s a lot he can accomplish to further housing finance reform during his tenure at the agency, despite the temporary nature of his position.
Otting, who is also comptroller of the currency, will be in charge of the agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until a permanent replacement is confirmed. President Donald Trump has nominated vice presidential aide and libertarian economist Mark Calabria for that position.
“There’s a clear mission that’s outlined by the Treasury and the White House, what they want to accomplish,” Otting said in an interview this morning inside the building that houses both the OCC and FHFA.
“If I can move that down the rails before Mark is confirmed, there’s a lot of things I think we can get done, and then Mark could come in and continue down the path of the mission that’s been laid out,” he added.
Otting echoed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin by saying that “ending conservatorship is a priority,” and maintaining the 30-year mortgage is important.
He declined to go into detail about his views on what type of reforms might be needed to the mortgage giants, often referred to as government-sponsored enterprises.
“We have to look at the capital and liquidity requirements of the GSEs,” he said. “But by all accounts … I think the GSEs can be commended for the way they have repositioned their business models and the way they are serving the market.”
He said he was still getting his bearings in his new role, but added: “Our goal is to be able to complete the release of the GSEs but at the same time make sure that it supports the U.S. housing market.”
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Chris Roberts
On Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 2:57:06 PM UTC-6, Pauly Montreal wrote:
Mnuchin. He's repeatedly stated he wants to release GSE's to protect housing and assure no taxpayer risk via further bailouts. Otting just echoed party line. Doesn't infer they won't but doesn't infer opposite either. Words I never use with my son are really want to, maybe etc, at 12 yrs old he's smart enough to realize if I say them a few times yet don't act in concert they will lose meaning, and worse he will lose respect for my spoken word. We don't even use word promise. Our word is gold until the day we break it. Which TS has done all kinds. Who hasn't though, somewhat reassuringly, is POTUS. Imagine for a moment had he said numerous times he really wants to initiate something completely within his power, yet doesn't. (not least of which he has done everything he stated he could) He keeps his word more than any other POTUS in history, he's just yet to give it on GSE's. I take that as neither negative nor positive to date.
Chris Roberts
On Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 3:44:14 PM UTC-6, Pauly Montreal wrote:
Ya I mean I can't argue with a word you said since you're far more experienced and knowledgeable on topic. I just know POTUS as a man extremely well (that $7 illegal boy scout payment from charity from a billionaire is all you need to know, Eric charity golf promise he reneged on etc, we could go on and on). With that in mind I'm painting my own picture relating to what's transpiring, which ain't much or definitive. Make no mistake, as none of you are, nothing in dc happens or doesn't without a clear reason so inaction is deliberate and will take same deliberate act to counter. That is crystal clear to my mind. A 73 yr old ain't fucking changing. Difference now, is cleanliness isn't next to Godliness for POTUS as it relates to GSE's. Oof, courts, who the hell knows but proceeding with trepidation is in the cards without a doubt. I swear I would bet ten grand to a 1000 we'll find out remedy request was well below par. Any release of any kind would be gigantic fodder for MSM for enriching POTUS allies, benefactors, TSY buds blah blah blah, all without a par remedy, imagine with one. Goes to another Obama black eye etc because remedy infers illegality, therein lies courts conundrum. Judges aren't stupid, just protective of giving POTUS that type of cash enriching win to his inner circle. We all know wall funding via non political route still gives Dems a win, does it not, so that's not an ideal political fix, imo anyways. Dems will say we held fast, as they should. Admin illegality is bs without ep docs. Seen enough episodes of L&O to realize court of public opinion is different that actual court and this shit would leak if he wanted it to, as if MSM doesn't already wink, wink, know they exist what with Fairholme discovery. I don't know, I'm just trying to put pieces together for my own investments, as are we all, not for being chatty as we could all use a quantum of solace (was for you trips :)once done.
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Chris Roberts
On Friday, January 11, 2019 at 6:38:03 AM UTC-6, Pauly Montreal wrote:
Am I mistaken in some fairholme docs are public, at minimum the tip of iceberg? Won't take much crack reporting, as even a reporter on crack could dig up that info and realize sweeney only released a little, no? Must be much more to story, and is. Only time in history both sides of MSM stopped reading half way though book and critiqued it. As for 100b for wall, well, won't those same crack reporters all shout in unison that deal man POTUS made worse deal of all time by releasing a company he didn't have to? This ain't a US lottery so paying out present value of a losing ticket is a terrible, bad, no good deal on behalf of US govt and more to point, for benefit of whom? US public, him, a wall or those greedy hf's. I don't see by any stretch how the unnecessary can be spun as beneficial. He may as well sell Mt. Rushmore to fund wall. Those worthless companies generated what, 10-20B per? So that's only a five/ten year Gov benefit. A terrible deal relative to perpetuity. Again, why at all, why today, why that way are all questions that must be addressed. Discovery answers them all but we have to assume he won't use discovery without judicial leverage because that will seem self serving, to the irony of implementation of EP in first place. MSM will champion rulings to date which all validate NWS. How does KellyAnne counter that duplicitous Acosta and co.? Why did POTUS cash out coveted, cash positive, judicially supported GSE? Won't be for an undesired by many, cash intensive, judicially challenged wall, imo anyways.
patswil1
On Friday, January 11, 2019 at 8:16:50 AM UTC-5, Pauly Montreal wrote:
Exec privilege. Imagine a railroaded prisoner serving a natural life sentence for dubious crimes in a prison that almost never grants parole hearings and he gets one. If board says you have a somewhat compelling case, convict, so when would you suggest we release you? He would be ill advised to say today. Therein lies the nuance. I doubt he would demand to be immediately released because that's what's right. Does he read board's expression and say, in tw...thre........fi.......eig, ten years your honour! Which again, sounds horrendous but depending on his age much better than a slow, painful death in prison. In all likelihood he will not get that chance again. Pigs V. hogs.
SimSla
Joseph Otting, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, vowed to “move the path forward” on overhauling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo
White House plans to overhaul housing finance system, top regulator says
By VICTORIA GUIDA and KATY O'DONNELL
01/24/2019 02:53 PM EST
The White House will announce a plan by next month to end government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a bid to resolve a long debate over the fate of the two companies that dominate the mortgage market, a top regulator said.
Joseph Otting, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, told employees last week that the administration would not wait on Congress, where attempts to overhaul the housing finance system have repeatedly faltered in the years since Fannie and Freddie were rescued during the financial crisis, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by POLITICO.
“In the next two to four weeks you’re going to be able to see some communication that comes out of the White House and Treasury that really sets a direction for what the future of housing will be in the U.S. and what the FHFA’s part of that will be,” Otting said at a Jan. 17 staff meeting.
Otting’s remarks, captured in a 30-minute recording, present the fullest picture yet of the Trump administration’s plans for the massive companies, which bolster the housing market by buying mortgages from lenders and selling them as securities to investors, freeing up more money to lend. He pledged significant headway on an overhaul within “six to 18 months.”
He referred to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s past statements that he wants to wind down the government's control under his tenure — “and I will tell you that is a commitment,” Otting said.
Yet that move would re-ignite a long-simmering dispute over Fannie and Freddie's future. Republicans have long argued that the companies have an unfair competitive edge over private companies because of their government guarantee. Some even blame the companies for the financial crisis, pointing to their over-extension in subprime loans.
Democrats, meanwhile, are fiercely protective of the companies’ affordable housing goals, which they see as a priority in any discussion of housing finance reform.Trump administration officials have typically at least paid lip service to the idea that Congress should go first; Mnuchin told Bloomberg in December that he would prefer to “do something that has bipartisan legislative support.”
Otting said otherwise.
“The Treasury and White House viewpoint is that the [FHFA] director and the secretary of Treasury have tremendous authority and that they would act, I think, independent of legislation if they thought it was the right thing to do,” said Otting, who was named acting director of the regulator earlier this month when Mel Watt's term expired.
Otting, who also serves as comptroller of the currency, vowed to “move the path forward” on overhauling Fannie and Freddie while Mark Calabria, President Donald Trump’s nominee to assume the position full time, awaits a Senate hearing and confirmation.
“This is a path that’s been established by the White House and the Treasury, and Mark has signed off on it, I’ve signed off on it, Treasury has signed off on it, the White House has signed off on it,” he said.
MarketWatch previously reported some of the comments, along with an FHFA spokesperson’s denial that any timing or plan details had been discussed.
Trump’s border wall obsession frustrates conservative activists
By ANITA KUMAR, GABBY ORR and ELIANA JOHNSON
An FHFA spokesperson declined to comment.
Fannie and Freddie have been in conservatorship since September 2008, when Treasury took control of the companies to prevent catastrophic losses during the housing crisis. The FHFA is both conservator and regulator, responsible for overseeing the companies’ combined $5.4 trillion portfolio of mortgage loans and securities.
Ending conservatorship is easier said than done, Otting conceded, noting that releasing Fannie and Freddie from government control would require a “thoughtful look” at the capital and liquidity levels they would need to operate independently.
“But I do think over the next six to 18 months, we will solve that issue,” he added. “And I can assure you that I’m not here to just sit around and enjoy the fruits of being the director. I’m here to kind of move that path forward. And then when Mark is confirmed in his role, he can kind of come in and just continue down the path.”
SimSla
Politico obtained the audio.
“In the next two to four weeks you’re going to be able to see some communication that comes out of the White House and Treasury that really sets a direction for what the future of housing will be in the U.S. and what the FHFA’s part of that will be,” Otting said at a Jan. 17 staff meeting.
“$6 [billion] to $150 billion is a big road, especially when you consider the earnings are, what, probably $11 billion a year?” Otting said. “So it’s like, how do we accelerate that, or what do we do to try to achieve that? And I think that’s going to take some really heavy lifting and thought processes around that.”
