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Showing posts from April, 2014

Fannie-Freddie Fate Hangs on Senate Action This Week: Mortgages

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Fannie-Freddie Fate Hangs on Senate Action This Week: Mortgages By Clea Benson and Cheyenne Hopkins     Apr 29, 2014 2:00 AM GMT+0800     - Comments   Email   Print Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg The Fannie Mae headquarters in Washington, D.C. A  U.S. Senate plan for  Fannie Mae (FNMA)  and Freddie Mac, the most thorough yet for winding down the two mortgage financiers, faces a first test this week with its authors making last-minute changes to gather more support. The 22 members of the Senate Banking Committee will decide as early as tomorrow if the bill, the culmination of more than a year of delicate negotiations among Democrats and Republicans, gains momentum or fizzles. The legislation would replace the companies over five years with federal insurance for mortgage bonds that would kick in only after private investors were wiped out. Current shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be in line behind the U.S. in getting any compensation from

Will This Fannie & Freddie Bill Help?

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Will This Fannie & Freddie Bill Help?   By  John Blank April 28, 2014 9:33 AM Supporters of the bill sponsored by Senate banking committee chairman Tim Johnson, a Democrat, and the top Republican on the committee, Mike Crapo, have been working overtime to ensure they have enough votes to pass it through the committee. But even if the bill manages to survive that phase, it faces significant challenges in moving to the full Senate, according to congressional aides. The first test will come when the banking committee starts the process of making changes to the Johnson-Crapo bill on Tuesday, after which senate lawmakers will hold a vote on the measure. My RTI question:  Will This Fannie and Freddie Bill Help the U.S. economy?

Prospects dim for U.S. Senate housing bill as panel postpones vote

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Prospects dim for U.S. Senate housing bill as panel postpones vote   April 29, 2014 2:18 PM * Banking committee short of broad support leaders sought * Not clear when committee may vote on measure* Bill could clear panel, but full Senate vote unlikely * Bill would shutter Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Adds background, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock prices) By Margaret Chadbourn WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - The already dim prospects for a bill to wind down taxpayer-owned mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac grew darker on Tuesday, as a U.S. Senate committee postponed a vote on the legislation. The decision reflects the difficulty the panel's leaders are having rounding up the broad backing that would be needed for the measure to be brought to a vote in the full Senate. "There continue to be important discussions to build a larger coalition," Committee Chairman Tim Johnson said. Johnson, a Democrat, and the panel's lea