Everyone Wants A Bailout

The list of those wanting a government bailout and/or bigger bailout than they have received so far keeps growing.

Monolines Want A Bailout

Ambac (ABK) and MBIA (MBI) are both pleading for bailouts. I covered this topic in Galling Actions of MBIA and Ambac. MBIA wants cash, Ambac is blaming the rating agencies and wants guarantees of an AAA rating it does not deserve.

Banking Community Wants A Bailout

The banking community is also looking for handouts, straight from taxpayers. The Wall Street Journal is reporting Worried Bankers Seek to Shift Risk to Uncle Sam.

The banking industry, struggling to contain the fallout from the mortgage debacle, is urgently shopping proposals to Congress and the Bush administration that could shift some of the risk for troubled loans to the federal government.

One proposal, advanced by officials at Credit Suisse Group, would expand the scope of loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. The proposal would let the FHA guarantee mortgage refinancings by some delinquent borrowers.

Credit Suisse officials have met with senior officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which runs the FHA, and other policy makers to discuss the proposal.

What's with this "Uncle Sam" stuff? Let's call it for what it is: A request for taxpayer funds to bail out lenders making stupid loan decisions.

NAHB Suspends Bribes

The national Association of Homebuilders recently announced that they have stopped all Congressional bribes. Housing Wire picks up the story in the inappropriately named article: NAHB Suspends Political Contributions over Housing Discontent.

The National Association of Home Builders said Wednesday that its political action committee will take its ball and go home, suspending contribution activity amid discontent over the current administration’s handling of the housing crisis.

The Home Builders’ Political Action Committee, BUILD-PAC, and its 150-member Board of Trustees representing all 50 states, will cease all approvals and disbursements of BUILD-PAC contributions to federal congressional candidates and their PACs, said NAHB president Brian Catalde.

“This extraordinary action was taken because the NAHB BUILD-PAC Board of Trustees felt that over the past six months Congress and the Administration have not adequately addressed the underlying economic issues that would help to stabilize the housing sector and keep the economy moving forward,” Catalde said.

“Housing and related industries account for more than 16 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. More needs to be done to jump-start housing and ensure the economy does not fall into a recession.”

Obviously the NAHB was expecting a bigger bailout than it has seen so far for the bribes it has paid out.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List