AlyssaKatz.com

Follow the Fed

My latest at Housing Watch: While the nation’s glare and financial industry dollars are riveted on Congress as it ponders financial reform with all the commitment my daughter brings to her potty training, the Fed is plowing ahead with some aggressive fixes to mortgage lending. Proposed changes to Regulation Z would effectively kill yield spread premiums, the kickbacks lenders pay to mortgage brokers to steer borrowers into excessively expensive and risky loans. Even if Congress waters down the Consumer Financial Protection Agency into sludge (which looks more and more likely), the Fed’s rules will serve as a first line of defense protecting borrowers from theft and deception. The folks who support Ron Paul’s bill for Congress to watchdog the Fed oughta think twice about what it could mean for consumer protection.

This is a good chance for me to ladle hosannas on Ryan Grim and Arthur Delaney’s excellent “The Cash Committee: How Wall Street Wins on the Hill” exposé for The Huffington Post. I’d really rather take my chances with Bernanke.

January 8th, 2010 | Posted in A Lot More | No Comments »