Commentary

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA jointly released a frequently asked questions guide with the other federal banking regulators last week. NCUA, together with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of Thrift Supervision prepared the FAQ...

Accounting issues unearthed at Freddie Mac and at Fannie Mae point up the need for stronger financial oversight of the GSEs. Customers of financial institutions and financial service providers have a right to expect their safety and soundness. I fully support the need for legislation and regulation that strengthens the...

Hagel's bill, co-sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and John Sununu (R-N.H.), includes a proposal to `clarify the mission' of the GSEs by defining their permissible activities. The Hagel Bill makes direct or indirect loan origination impermissible by the GSEs. It does so by defining primary and secondary mortgage activities....

Dark Shadows was a campy 1960s, pseudo-scary soap opera that tempted its audience with mysterious goings-on just out of the viewer's sight, at least until the next episode. Pending legislation that reforms regulatory and business oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has that same feeling: there's more to it...

Dark Shadows was pseudo-scary. Hagel's Bill is truly scary. If you're frightened, do three things now. First: support legislation that strengthens financial oversight of the GSEs. Fiscal responsibility and adequate capital levels make sense. Second, oppose - strenuously - legislation that limits our ability as lenders to provide our members...

Bright Lines? More like dark shadows. Answering `how will we know what to originate' is easy once we understand who's behind the Hagel Bill: big banks and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. If S.190 becomes law, U.S. mortgage lending will be controlled by the largest lenders. Smaller lenders -...

Homeownership has been U.S. public policy since the Franklin Roosevelt Administration. The GSEs were chartered as a matter of public policy, to ensure that a constant source of affordable credit would be available to all geographic regions of the U.S. so that people everywhere could become homeowners. It's worked. Homeownership...

Business services offer tremendous growth opportunities for our industry. It's obvious that credit unions must manage risks when doing business lending. But there are many other aspects of a business services program that carry risk, and credit unions must be prepared to manage them properly. When we consult with a...