Over the holidays I posted the news of the Obama administration’s Christmas decision to pledge unlimited resources to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and how the GSE’s executives are receiving Wall Street style bonuses. I wondered, where’s a pay czar when you need one.
The Wall Street Journal answered that question and more. Like most things these days, the more you know the angrier you get. The biggest losers in this are we the taxpayers. The Journal calls it a Christmas Eve taxpayer massacre. I’ll say. You should read the whole thing, but here are a few key points. (Emphasis mine.)
The Treasury is hoping no one notices, and no wonder. Taxpayers are continuing to buy senior preferred stock in the two firms to cover their growing losses—a combined $111 billion so far. When Treasury first bailed them out in September 2008, Congress put a $200 billion limit ($100 billion each) on federal assistance. Last year, the Treasury raised the potential commitment to $400 billion. Now the limit on taxpayer exposure is, well, who knows?
The firms have made clear that they may only be able to pay the preferred dividends they owe taxpayers by borrowing still more money . . . from taxpayers. Said Fannie Mae in its most recent quarterly report: “We expect that, for the foreseeable future, the earnings of the company, if any, will not be sufficient to pay the dividends on the senior preferred stock. As a result, future dividend payments will be effectively funded from equity drawn from the Treasury.”
The loss cap is being lifted because the government has directed both companies to pursue money-losing strategies by modifying mortgages to prevent foreclosures. Most of their losses are still coming from subprime and Alt-A mortgage bets made during the boom, but Fannie reported last quarter that loan modifications resulted in $7.7 billion in losses, up from $2.2 billion the previous quarter.
[....]
Even better for the political class, much of this is being done off the government books. The White House budget office still doesn’t fully account for Fannie and Freddie’s spending as federal outlays, though Washington controls the companies. Nor does it include as part of the national debt the $5 trillion in mortgages—half the market—that the companies either own or guarantee. The companies have become Washington’s ultimate off-balance-sheet vehicles, the political equivalent of Citigroup’s SIVs, that are being used to subsidize and nationalize mortgage finance.
This subterfuge also explains the Christmas Eve timing. After December 31, Team Obama would have needed the consent of Congress to raise the taxpayer exposure beyond $400 billion. By law, negative net worth at the companies forces them into “receivership,” which means they have to be wound down.
Unlimited bailouts will now allow the Treasury to keep them in conservatorship, which means they can help to conserve the Democratic majority in Congress by increasing their role in housing finance. With the Federal Reserve planning to step back as early as March from buying $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities, Team Obama is counting on Fan and Fred to help reflate the housing bubble.
[....]
Where is Treasury’s pay czar when we actually need him? You guessed it, Fannie and Freddie are exempt from the rules applied to the TARP banks. The government gave away the game that these firms are no longer in the business of making profits when it announced that the CEOs will be paid entirely in cash, though it is discouraging that practice at other big banks. Who would want stock in the Department of Housing and Urban Development?
Meanwhile, these biggest of Beltway losers continue to be missing from the debate over financial reform. The Treasury still hasn’t offered its long-promised proposals even as it presses reform on banks that played a far smaller role in the financial mania and panic. Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D., Conn.) and ranking Republican Richard Shelby recently issued a joint statement on their “progress” toward financial regulatory reform, but their list of goals also doesn’t mention Fannie or Freddie. ….
This is enough to make your head spin. They’re hoping this is above most Americans’ pay grade.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is insanity! Fannie and Freddie arguably played the largest role in the housing meltdown, and here we are basically writing them a blank check so the democrats can continue buying votes. What’s going to happen when the bills come due?
Exit question: Can anyone still argue this isn’t socialism and keep a straight face?
More empowerment for Fannie & Freddie?
Excuse me while my head explodes.
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