FDIC Chairman Bair

Bair Speech on the Mortgage Industry

On January 19, FDIC Chairman Bair spoke at the Summit on Residential Mortgage Servicing for the 21st Century where she discussed, among other things: (i) establishing a fixed formula to govern treatment of first and second mortgages when the servicer owns the second mortgage, (ii) requiring banks to foreclose in their own names instead of allowing MERS to foreclose, (iii) establishing a foreclosure claims commission to be funded by servicers to address homeowner complaints from foreclosures with servicing errors, (iv) establishing incentives for loss mitigation in servicing, and (v) possible features of a definition for “qualified residential mortgages” which are exempt from risk retention requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act. FDIC Release.

Bair, Bernanke Testimony on “Too Big to Fail”

On September 2, FDIC Chairman Bair and Fed Chairman Bernanke testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on systemically important institutions and the “too big to fail” issue. Bair addressed how systemic risks can be mitigated using the tools provided under the Dodd-Frank Act. Bair Testimony. Bernanke Testimony.