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Public Policy Issues
The articles here are divided into three groups, and within each group they are listed in order of publication, earliest at the top, most recent at the bottom.

HISTORICAL

Reforming RESPA: The HUD Proposals
This article was published 10/02, the HUD proposals are interesting but never enacted.

STRUCTURAL


These articles comment on proposals, my own as well as those of others, to improve the housing finance system. Some originated during, and were stimulated by events during the crisis period.

A Proposal to HUD on Third Party Fee Markups
Protecting Borrowers Against Predatory Servicing
Dealing With Yield Spread Premium Abuse
Mortgage Suitability
Mortgage Affordability: Should Government Require It?
Should Mortgage Escrows Be Mandated by Law?
Fixing the Mortgage System So It Works For Borrowers
Should Mortgage Brokers Be Required to Be Agents?
Should Stated Income Loans Be Barred?
Would HR 3915 Eliminate Yield Spread Premium Abuse?
HUD's Proposals to Reform Loan Originations
Which Mortgage Prices Are Lower?
Will Early Disclosures Prompt Borrowers to Shop?
New Mortgage Rules Disadvantage the Already Disadvantaged
Will the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010” Improve Mortgage Disclosures?
Can Government Make Markets Work Better?
Can Mortgage Shoppers Be Helped by Mandated Early Disclosures?
The Fed’s New Rule on Originator Compensation: Confusion City
The Administration's Plans For Housing Finance: A Scale-Down Means Hard Times Ahead
The Administration's Plans For Housing Finance: The Proposed Ramp-up Doesn't Cut It
The Administration's Plans For Housing Finance: What the Ramp-Up Could Be
A Debt Default Will Be a Disaster
An Unacknowledged Epidemic: Late-Stage Mortgage Rejections
Late-Stage Mortgage Rejections and the Quality of Appraisals
Late-Stage Mortgage Rejections: Some Remedies
Why Has the Mortgage Modification Program Fizzled?
Will a Single Point of Contact Stimulate Mortgage Modifications?

FINANCIAL CRISIS AND ITS AFTERMATH


These articles were all stimulated by the financial crisis.
Upheaval in the Sub-Prime Mortgage Market
HR 3915 Would Stick it to Blemished Borrowers
Perspectives on the Financial Crisis
The Fed's Proposals For Fixing the Market
Why the System is Vulnerable to Crisis
Fixing the Crisis Through Mortgage Payment Insurance
What Is a "Bail-Out"?
Averting Financial Disaster
Regulation and the Financial Crisis
Evolution of a Financial Crisis
Breaking the Back of the Financial Crisis
Is the FDIC Plan the Answer?
Are the Banks Hoarding Government-Provided Capital?
Dealing With the Foreclosure Problem
Saving the Banks Without Breaking the Bank
Will Tougher Rules For Brokers Help?
On Preventing the Next Crisis
Desecuritization: Value There For the Taking
The Administration's Plan to Help Troubled Mortgage Borrowers
Should Government Help Undeserving Borrowers?
Paying Out of Savings: How Deep Must the Borrower Dig?
Revamping the Regulatory System - So It Won't Happen Again
How to Jump-Start Mortgage Loan Modifications
The Appraisal Debacle: An Example of How Not to Regulate
Do We Need a Federal Consumer Protection Agency?
The Fed Should Exit Consumer Protection
Reforming the Financial System
How to Protect Mortgage Borrowers
Financial Disasters and Natural Disasters: Which Are Worse?
Have We Diagnosed the Major Sources of the Financial Crisis Correctly?
Will We See the Next Emerging Crisis in Time to Stop it?
Will the Financial Stability Act of 2010 Improve Mortgage Disclosures?
Risk of Rate Increases on ARMs: Do Government-Mandated Disclosures Help?
Strategic Defaults: Can We Keep Them in Check?
Why Isn't Housing Recovering?
Why Is Balance Reduction Resisted?
Jump-Starting the Home Market -- and the Economy
Jump-Starting the Home Market- Some Specific Proposals
Jump-Starting the Home Market - More Needed Changes