If spun off from firms that rate corporate debt, raters of asset-backed securities would have less incentive to sugarcoat ratings in exchange for the promise of an issuers other business.
Government-mandated risk retention is not an answer to the problem of bad loans being bundled up and sold to unsuspecting buyers. A better approach is to make sure that MBS purchasers have access to good loan-level data about what they are buying.
By pretending to treat the guarantee problem as actuarial rather than political, Corker-Warner can garner the support of traditional lending and housing lobbies that historically supported Fannie and Freddie.
A Huffington Post scoop describes serious morale problems at the Fed, but lays most of the blame for that on former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan. Editor-at-large Barbara A. Rehm sees it differently.
Bank regulators, enforcement authorities and legislatures in key countries will have to work together to enforce Basel's well-meaning guidelines related to money-laundering and terrorism financing.
The federal income tax exemption benefits credit union members and bank customers as credit unions provide a check on banks through their competitive rates and fees.
We need to secure a balance between literal enforcement of statistical conclusions and the actual intention of the bank and the real needs of underserved minority communities.
