Policymakers can shape the Dodd-Frank risk retention requirements in a way that brings private investment back to the multifamily mortgage business. The window of opportunity is short.
Congress is afraid to tackle this complicated and contentious issue, but the market badly needs positive signals from our lawmakers that provide certainty about the future of housing finance.
Dodd-Frank repealed the ban on paying interest on business checking accounts. No longer necessary to circumvent that restriction, sweep accounts with overnight repos can still protect and retain high-balance depositors.
Identify the megabanks' overpriced products and services, the customers they can't or won't serve. Use outside infrastructure to adapt quickly. B of A, Citi and other financial-services oligopolists are highly vulnerable to competition.
It seems clear that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau believes balloon mortgages are not abusive or predatory. Why, then, does the rule so restrict their use?
Congressional approval for a two-year extension would, among other things, prevent more uncertainty, minimize deposit concentration and maximize financial stability.
