Consumer Law

What New "Consumer Czar" Elizabeth Warren Can Do On Housing

By Brian Wolfman

At Credit Slips, CLP blogger Alan White has this interesting post explaining what Elizabeth Warren can do as "consumer czar" on housing-related issues, even before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory authority kicks in. Here's the slimmed down version:

The Bureau's authority to write regulations and enforce laws does not begin until the transfer date next year.  In the meantime, however, the Warren/Geithner acting director team can take action immediately on several urgent issues. First the foreclosure crisis.  The statute requires the Treasury Secretary to make several improvements in the Home Affordable Modification Program, including greater transparency for homeowners dealing with mortgage servicers and greater public accountability for the servicers (who are dominated by the four big banks.) . . . Second, Dodd-Frank requires a report on the future of the Fannie and Freddie "conservatorship", i.e. nationalization, to be submitted by January 31, 2011.  The prevailing thinking at the White House seems to favor a gradual exit from securitization for the GSEs [Government Sponsored Enterprises], converting them to insurance providers similar to FHA. . . .Third, the new law calls for major improvements in gathering and reporting information about credit markets, information which will be vital to developing fact-based regulations after the CFPB is open for business.  HUD and the CFPB are charged with creating a new public national foreclosure database.  The sooner this happens, the sooner policy can be based on timely and accurate information, available to researchers, the media and the public, rather than relying on surveys and reports from trade associations and data vendors.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on September 18, 2010 (boomark / email).