Jackson sets resignation date
- By:
- MortgageLoan.com | April 01, 2008
Amid media speculation, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today announced his decision to step down from his post. Mr. Jackson is currently under criminal investigation for awarding HUD contracts that his critics believe affected the agency's effectiveness in dealing with the subprime mortgage mess.
The close aide and longtime friend of the President Bush spent just over two minutes confirming his decision to leave his post on April 18. He took no questions and offered only the vaguest of explanations, saying that "there comes a time when one must attend more diligently to personal and family matters."
Mr. Jackson's tenure as housing secretary has been dogged by controversy. Soon after being confirmed as housing secretary in 2004, Mr. Jackson told a house panel that he believed poverty "is a state of mind, not a condition." Two years later, he said in a speech that he had cancelled a contract for a company after its president told him that he did not like Mr. Bush. Jackson later retracted the story as being made up.
Deputy housing secretary, Roy Bernardi, who has served under Mr. Jackson throughout his time is expected to run the department until a permanent successor is named by Mr. Bush and confirmed by the Senate.
Bankruptcy Reform Back on the Table
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 21, 2008
One of the earliest ideas for helping homeowners facing mounting mortgage debt and potential foreclosure on their home was to reform bankruptcy laws. The concept is now officially back on the table, introduced into the Congressional lame-duck session by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL).
TARP is Closed for Relief Until Further Notice
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 20, 2008
Remember what a crisis the $700 billion mortgage market bailout was--the very existence of the American financial order hung in the balance.
Fixing the Housing Market, Lots of Ideas...Any Answers?
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 19, 2008
Almost a year into the dawning of the housing crisis (many chronologist are setting that around the January 2008 crumbling of Countrywide) ideas continue to flow, but few seem to be the answer. In fact, this seems to be the growing consensus--there is no silver bullet.
G-20 Lots of Motion, Will There Be Action?
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 18, 2008
The 20 most powerful industrial nations, and now the caretakers of an unprecedented global financial crisis, assembled in Washington DC over the weekend. Their mandate was broad and daunting--stabilize world markets.
FDIC Challenges Treasury with New Loan Modification Proposal
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 17, 2008
On the heels of the Treasury and Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) loan modification plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the FDIC releases their own proposal. In this unprecedented, unilateral, and aggressive move by a Federal agency the FDIC is essential fighting a very public political battle directly with the Treasury and the current Administration.
Mortgage Rates Drop for Second Straight Week
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 14, 2008
Another week of dismal economic data have again pushed down mortgage rates. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.14 percent, down from 6.20 percent last week. This demonstrates a steep decline from 6.46 percent two weeks prior.
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