Taxpayer Coalition Urging Scrutiny Of Fannie, Freddie Subprime Push
WASHINGTON - A new coalition of taxpayer groups is pushing for stronger federal oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying the two government-sponsored enterprises may be putting taxpayers in danger. "If Freddie and Fannie continue their attempts to expand their reach into subprime and jumbo mortgages, there is a real danger of collapse," Thomas Schatz, president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, said at a press conference on Thursday introducing the watchdog group HomeEC - short for Homeowners' Education Coalition.Mr. Schatz said the "GSEs could become the savings and loans of the coming decade," referring to the collapse of the S&Ls that wiped out their deposit insurance fund in the late 1980s.
Expressing fears that the GSEs' debt could outstrip the Treasury in a couple of years, Mr. Schatz said the public impact of a potential bailout would make the S&L crisis "look like chump change."
David Jeffers, a spokesman for Fannie Mae, characterized HomeEC's position as another misguided attempt to "defend the interests of those who would charge consumers higher costs."
3 Realty Execs Leave Jones Lang To Join Lehman Global Division
NEW YORK - Senior real estate bankers David R. Brown, Douglas P. Hercher, and Michael P. Zeitsman have left Jones Lang LaSalle to become managing directors at Lehman Brothers Realty Corp.They will report to Robert C. Lieber, head of Lehman's global real estate investment banking unit.
Mr. Brown set up Jones Lang's Midwest investment sales and finance office in Chicago in 1995. He was a member of Jones Lang's international capital markets committee and led its German institutional business development. He began working at Jones Lang in 1986.
Mr. Hercher was a managing director for North American activities and an international director at Jones Lang. He has worked with investors in the European and Asian markets for more than six years.
Mr. Zeitsman headed Jones Lang's West Coast real estate business in Los Angeles as a managing director and executive committee member of Jones Lang's investment banking group. He worked in Jones Lang's Tokyo unit from 1991-92. He was a member of Jones Lang Wootton USA's board of directors; he started working there in 1983.
Greenpoint to Securitize $340M Of Manufactured-Housing Loans
NEW YORK - GreenPoint Financial Corp. plans a $340 million securitization of manufactured-housing loans.In a transaction expected to close at the end of the month, GreenPoint would issue a $248 million AAA-rated tranche, a $23.8 million AA-rated tranche, and a $44.2 million BB-rated tranche. First Union Securities is the lead manager and underwriter for the offering. Prudential Securities and Salomon Smith Barney were co-managers and underwriters. Ratings were provided by Moody's Investment Services and Fitch Investor Services.
