WASHINGTON - (09/01/04) The Federal Home Loan Bank ofSeattle has petitione dits federal regulator to begin buying andselling mortgage-backed securities from its members, a proposalwhich, if joined by others of the 12 regional FHLBs, could addsignificant liquidity to the market for MSBs. Under the proposal,submitted to the Federal Housing Finance Board, regulator for theFHLBs, the Seattle bank would hold some securities and sell othersto institutional investors. It would also give credit union membersof the FHLBs another market for the MSBs. The proposal would putthe Seattle bank in greater competition with Fannie Mae and FreddieMac, which currently dominate the market for MSBs. The FHLBs havecome into increasing competition with the Fannie and Freddie inrecent years with the advent of their own secondary mortgage marketprogram, known as Mortgage Partnership Finance.
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The Jackson, Mississippi, company will use proceeds from the sale of its Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance unit to restructure its investment portfolio, moving $1.6 billion of low-yield securities off the balance sheet.
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The store-branded card issuer is raising annual percentage rates and adding fees for paper statements to compensate for lost revenue. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new regulation is scheduled to take effect on May 14.
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At the banks' annual meetings, shareholders at both companies struck down proposals that would have split the board chair and CEO roles. Two other proposals also failed to win shareholder support, one concerning energy financing and another on pay gap analysis.
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Congressional Review Act resolutions are ramping up ahead of the 2024 election cycle. Experts say that, although none are likely to become law, the resolutions are still powerful messaging and political tools.
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The ABA is testing an information-exchange network to allow banks to share their fraud data with each other. Companies including Baselayer are also building solutions.
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Republicans on the House and Senate Small Business committees are accusing the SBA of being irresponsible in granting Funding Circle permission to participate in its flagship loan-guarantee program.
April 24