This action has unleashed a torrent of comment. I am sure there is more to follow. – BC
has 5 reasons – Here’s The Secret Reason We Eliminated The Bailout Caps On Fannie And Freddie – Joe Weisenthal – … Credit analyst Edwart Pinto shares his theories. – Clusterstock @ The Business Insider
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Geithner’s Christmas Eve Surprise – By Tom Lindmark – The Business Insider has a good, short-list of possible implications. (see above) but I did find the first item of interest: Revisions to … (HAMP). Any changes will likely increase near term bailout costs to Fannie and Freddie if HAMP’s current reliance on interest reduction is replaced in part by principal reduction. … in an attempt to limit the damage the economy does to their majority in the 2010 elections, the administration is likely to go all in on mortgage modifications that require principal reduction. … – But Then What
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Fannie and Freddie’s Huge Christmas Bonus – Posted by Larry Doyle – … Why would the Obama administration pass this blank check under the cover of darkness on December 24th? In hopes that America had just settled down for its long winter’s nap and would miss this act of pillage and plunder. … Let’s take note. Let’s ponder this development. What exactly does a blank check and unlimited access to bailout funds truly mean? I envision the following: … – has several points – Sense on Cents
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Geithner Gives Housing Industry A Huge Christmas Present: Unlimited Fannie And Freddie Bailouts – – Henry Blodget – The Treasury snuck in another big bailout on Christmas Eve: It removed the cap on the amount of money it will provide to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to cover their ongoing mortgage losses. There is now no limit on how much we taxpayers will shovel down these black holes. – Clusterstock @ Business Insider
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Obama to Keep Control of Fannie/Freddie – Gabriel Malor – I’m certain the Obama Administration fully intended for this be lost in the holiday shuffle: … The struggling quasi-private mortgage and loan companies have no incentive to clean up their acts so long as they’ve got the taxpayer’s ATM card. … – Ace of Spade s HQ
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Treasury Announces “Unlimited” Bailouts for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – Written by Brandon Kiser – … The current cap sits at $400 billion and approval from Congress for further funds is now unnecessary. The “unlimited funds” also apparently cover bonuses for the their top executives. … – 72Wire.com
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Merry Christmas? – Craig Pirrong – That noise you heard emanating from your chimney on Christmas Eve wasn’t Santa Claus’s sack full of gifts: it was an unlimited contingent liability, gifted to you, the taxpayer, hitting your hearth when you were sitting down to a holiday feast. Because a $400 billion limit just wasn’t enough. … It is incredibly ironic that with all of the vitriol directed at Citi, BofA, Goldman, etc. (much of it deserved), the (Barney) Frankenstein’s Monsters (sorry, couldn’t resist), the GSEs, get a blank check and their executives a big payday. This gives new meaning to the term “piggybank.” … – Streetwise Professor