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WASHINGTON – A Tampa Bay area GOP member of the House has joined with a Massachusetts Democrat in introducing a bipartisan bill to make the government-sponsored mortgage corporations known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac subject to added disclosure regulations.
The legislation, the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Full Disclosure Act, would require the corporations to pay registration fees and to disclose information required by the Securities and Exchange Commission just as other publicly traded companies and issuers of private mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) do.
“There are many factors that were involved in our current economic meltdown,” said Republican Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow. “And one of them was a failure to require enough transparency and accountability from Fannie and Freddie. This legislation pulls the blinds up on the windows and lets some much needed regulatory sunshine into the rooms.”
“I have always felt that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities should be subject to the same public disclosure and accounting rules that cover other publicly-traded companies,” added Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Edward Markey.
“Now more than ever, investors and our financial markets need full disclosure regarding mortgage-backed securities and this bill will ensure that such disclosures are required. So long as these companies remain publicly-traded, they must be subject to the same public disclosure requirements as every other public company.”
Putnam, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, noted that the two mortgage giants own or guarantee about half of the $10.6 trillion in outstanding home loan debt.
-- Billy House, Media General News Service
The legislation, the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Full Disclosure Act, would require the corporations to pay registration fees and to disclose information required by the Securities and Exchange Commission just as other publicly traded companies and issuers of private mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) do.
“There are many factors that were involved in our current economic meltdown,” said Republican Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow. “And one of them was a failure to require enough transparency and accountability from Fannie and Freddie. This legislation pulls the blinds up on the windows and lets some much needed regulatory sunshine into the rooms.”
“I have always felt that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities should be subject to the same public disclosure and accounting rules that cover other publicly-traded companies,” added Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Edward Markey.
“Now more than ever, investors and our financial markets need full disclosure regarding mortgage-backed securities and this bill will ensure that such disclosures are required. So long as these companies remain publicly-traded, they must be subject to the same public disclosure requirements as every other public company.”
Putnam, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, noted that the two mortgage giants own or guarantee about half of the $10.6 trillion in outstanding home loan debt.
-- Billy House, Media General News Service