The attornies general of all 50 states tried to warn the Office of the Comtroller of the Currencyabout the pending mortgage crisis.Some states tried to regulate the mortgage market andwere shot down. Not only was the OCC not sympathetic, they strengthened federal policyto disallow the states from regulating mortgage and banking.
Yep, this is another bi-partisan thing. The Chairmanof the OCC, Hawkes, was appointed by Bill Clinton and really fell into the Bush white house style.
By Robert Berner and Brian Grow
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updated 11:59 a.m. CT, Sun., Oct. 12, 2008
[/align][/align]More than five years ago, in April 2003, the attorneys general of two small states traveled to Washington with a stern warning for the nation's top bank regulator. Sitting in the spacious Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with its panoramic view of the capital, the AGs from North Carolina and Iowa said lenders were pushing increasingly risky mortgages. Their host, John D. Hawke Jr., expressed skepticism.
Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Tom Miller of Iowa headed a committee of state officials concerned about new forms of "predatory" lending. They urged Hawke to give states more latitude to limit exorbitant interest rates and fine-print fees. "People out there are struggling with oppressive loans," Cooper recalls saying.
Hawke, a veteran banking industry lawyer appointed to head the OCC by President Bill Clinton in 1998, wouldn't budge. He said he would reinforce federal policies that hindered states from reining in lenders.
Not only was the OCC not sympathetic, they strengthened federal policy to disallow the states from regulating mortgage and banking.
I'm only vaguely familiar with this, but I think it may not have been as sinister as it sounds. I believe there are reasons why the power is centralized as opposed to allowing a more free-wheeling state-to-state decision making process.
The truth be known, I would say bush figured he could push off the problem to the next admin like Clinton did. Everyone should have seen the tech bubble burst coming. I doubt bush counted on the gas prices killing his buble.
Eliot Spitzer started an investigationdiscrimatory lending.It p!$$ed off the Bush Bunch so bad that they later went after Spitzer for histrysts with a prostitute.
In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions preempting all state predatory lending laws, thereby rendering them inoperative. The OCC also promulgated new rules that prevented states from enforcing any of their own consumer protection laws against national banks. The federal government's actions were so egregious and so unprecedented that all 50 state attorneys general, and all 50 state banking superintendents, actively fought the new rules.
But the unanimous opposition of the 50 states did not deter, or even slow, the Bush administration in its goal of protecting the banks. In fact, when my office opened an investigation of possible discrimination in mortgage lending by a number of banks, the OCC filed a federal lawsuit to stop the investigation.
Wow, where's your posts on the regulations the administration sought but was rebuffed by the Dem's in congress. Furthermore, congress owns the oversight on this and they failed to do their jobs because Dodd was too busy cashing his checks.
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
Wow, where's your posts on the regulations the administration sought but was rebuffed by the Dem's in congress.
You mean the one that Bush tried to push through congress in 2006.The Ney billwould have putsubprime borrowers at even greater risk of expensive prepayment penalties, excessive additional fees and outright mortgage fraud. The proposed regulationwent to jail with Republican Rep. Freedom Fries Nye.
Wow, where's your posts on the regulations the administration sought but was rebuffed by the Dem's in congress.
You mean the one that Bush tried to push through congress in 2006.The Ney billwould have putsubprime borrowers at even greater risk of expensive prepayment penalties, excessive additional fees and outright mortgage fraud. The proposed regulationwent to jail with Republican Rep. Freedom Fries Nye.
No I'm talking about this total BS fluff piece your trying to post out here saying Bush knew. Complete BS and the Republicans are on record trying to reign in this stuff but were blocked each and everytime. Remember the Dems controled the Senate 4 0ut of the last 8 years. They are the ones who had oversight on this day today matters not the President. Get educated on how your governments is suppose to work. You not too old to learn.
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
For years people like Sen. McCain and primarily Republican Reps and Senators have warned Congress and tried to get the Finance and Banking committees now run by Democrats (ie. Barney Frank and Cris Dodd) that their irresponsible collusion with Fannie May, Freddie Mac and pressuring of banks to make more than 50% of their loans to be "sub-prime" aka their unlikely to pay back the money.
Barney Frank, Cris Dodd, Maxine Waters and the rest of their gang brought members of the Bush Admin who trying to get them to slow down this race to make hundreds of billions in bad loans via these quasi-Gov't organizations before their committees and raised holy hell against them. Barney Frank, Cris Dodd, Maxine Waters said on camera in 2006, "all is going well at Freddie and Fannie... especially under the fine leadership of Franklin Reins...", who we since learned was cooking the books at Fannie Mae resulting in millions of $ more in bonuses for himself and people like Jamie Gorelick. {Do you remember her name with "œthe wall of separation between the CIA and FBI pre 9/11?}
Also, the group ACORN, which is currently in news for voter registration fraud in more then 13 states, along with their Democratic allies, like Barrack Obama, Barney Frank, Cris Dodd, Maxine Waters, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi put further pressure on banks and mortgage companies to write millions of sub-prime (high risk) housing loans for their own political gains.
And all the time Freddie and Fannie execs like Franklin Reins were funneling hundreds of thousands of $ to Barney Frank, Cris Dodd, Barrack Obama, etc. etc. Quid pro quo.
Though the Bush administration may have been able to create more waves to bring this incestuous relationship, you aren't going to be able to tar them with being the main cause this stinking financial and economic mess. This one falls square in the laps of the Democrats in Congress and we all are paying the costs of their corrupt actions. They're the most corrupt ineffective Congressional Democratic leadership in my lifetime without a doubt and their public ratings reflect that.
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MinnFinn
"Now there you go again..." "I'm not going to hold your youth and inexperience against you." -- Ronald Reagan
No I'm talking about this total BS fluff piece your trying to post out here saying Bush knew. Complete BS and the Republicans are on record trying to reign in this stuff
Total unadulterated BS and you know it. You would try to put a Bush positive spin on the situation if you caught him crapping on your lawn. Get real man.
Administration Was Warned On Mortgage Crisis
