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On Wednesday, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, eased capital requirements for the two firms to provide up to $200 billion in immediate liquidity for stressed mortgage markets.     OFHEO will lower to 20 percent from 30 percent the amount of extra capital the companies… Continue reading Fannie Mae and Freddie MAC Capital Requirements Eased

According to sources, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are closer to an arrangement that would increase their ability to ease tight credit by broadening their ability to buy mortgages being shunned by other investors.    The deal would see the largest providers of funds for U.S. residential mortgages win relief from a capital surcharge that… Continue reading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Working on Deal to Boost Mortgage Buying

As if things weren’t bad enough for Bear Stearns, the troubled investment bank received a ruling from a New York appeals court last week that its insurers are not responsible for the costs of an $80 million settlement in late 2002 over the firm’s stock research practices. The ruling came before the troubled bank agreed… Continue reading More Bad News for Bear Stearns in Court Ruling in Insurance Case

A settlement was reached last week between American International Group Inc (AIG) and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department over financial misreporting involving its alleged reinsurance deal with General Re Corp. The insurer agreed to pay $13.5 million, including a $6.6 million fine. Additionally, according the the PA Insurance Department, the settlement resolves client-steering and bid-rigging allegations… Continue reading AIG Reaches Settlement with PA Insurance Department

A special Florida Senate committee appointed to look into why the state homeowners insurance market has not met expectations after legislators offered more reinsurance last year, has submitted a list of informal proposals designed to curtail premiums.    The state regulators applauded the efforts while the Florida Insurance Council, the state’s largest trade association, said… Continue reading FL Senate Provides Proposals to Improve Homeowners Market

Less than what analysts estimated, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said profit fell 57 percent. First-quarter net income declined to $489 million, or 81 cents a share, from $1.15 billion, or $1.96, a year earlier, the New York-based firm said in statement today. Lehman’s CEO Richard Fuld was forced yesterday to reassure shareholders when he said… Continue reading Lehman Also Sees Less-Than-Expected Losses, Calming Investors

The world’s biggest securities firm by market value, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., reported a smaller-than- estimated 53 percent drop in first-quarter profit after asset write-downs and lower fees from investment banking.    et income fell to $1.51 billion, or $3.23 a share, in the three months ended Feb. 29 from $3.2 billion, or $6.67, a… Continue reading Goldman Reports Lower Losses than Anticipated

The question on Wall Street is whether the Fed will make another major cut in lending rates at its regularly scheduled FOMC meeting today. The bet is on a full-point cut in the federal funds rate, to 2 percent, putting the key lending rate indisputably below key inflation gauges. Another cut in the discount rate… Continue reading The News on the Street: The Fed to Cut Big

The American Insurance Association (AIA) today said the ”National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2008,” which would nationalize insurance agent licensing only, would not result in the comprehensive insurance regulatory reform that is needed. “A better, and more complete approach to reforming insurance regulation would be to adopt the ‘National Insurance… Continue reading AIA: Agent Licensing Bill A Weak Substitute for National Insurance Act

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) last week urged members of Congress to consider legislation that would streamline licensing requirements for insurance agents and brokers. The bill, The National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2008 was introduced by Reps. David Scott, D-Ga., and Geoff Davis, R-Ky., and would establish… Continue reading NAMIC Urges Congress to Consider Reforms to Agent/Broker Licensing