Nomination of Mel Watt to FHFA is welcome news
A replacement for Ed DeMarco, the current acting director of the FHFA, is long overdue. DeMarco has obstructed necessary policy changes that would have lessened the negative impact of the foreclosure...
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From the President: Bank payday rules show what can be done with strong...
Last month fair lending advocates cheered when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposed new guidance that would require banks under their...
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ACTION ALERT: Tell Senator Kirk to help homeowners & dump DeMarco
The Chicago region experienced more than 66,000 new foreclosures in 2012 and more than a quarter of Illinois homeowners are underwater on their mortgages—particularly those in communities of color.
View ArticleSenator Kirk votes to block Mel Watt as director of Fannie, Freddie regulator
Senator Mark Kirk voted today against the nomination of Congressman Mel Watt of North Carolina as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac....
View ArticleStruggling Chicago area homeowners still need help, despite some positive signs
On its face, this sounds like good news, but it’s too soon to break out the champagne. It seems unlikely that the foreclosure crisis over when more than a third of Chicago region homes are underwater...
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Tell Sen. Kirk to allow a vote for new leadership at FHFA
It’s time for a leader who will make priority one preventing further damage from the foreclosure crisis. Sign onto our letter telling Sen. Kirk that homeowners deserve a vote on new leadership at FHFA....
View ArticleThe Case for Mel Watt (U.S. News and World Report)
Ever since the collapse of the housing bubble, local officials around the country have had to deal with a massive problem of homes effectively abandoned by banks and other absentee owners.
View ArticleSen. Kirk votes to block new leadership of housing regulator
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) voted today to filibuster a vote on President Obama’s nomination of Congressman Mel Watt as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The motion to allow...
View ArticleMel Watt confirmed as FHFA director
Congressman Melvin Watt was confirmed as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) by the United States Senate in a 57-41 vote yesterday. The FHFA is a powerful federal government agency...
View ArticleWoodstock Institute urges FHFA director to help underwater homeowners
There is a significant need for programs that prevent foreclosure for underwater homeowners in the Chicago area. More than one in five homeowners in the Chicago region is underwater, and negative...
View ArticleFederal housing chief pitches mortgage relief program (Crain's Chicago Business)
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt appeared today at the Woodson Regional Library in Washington Heights to raise awareness of the Home Affordable Refinance Program, which has lowered...
View ArticleComment Letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency Urging Them to...
This letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency affirms the importance of creating strong affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to promote access to mortgage credit for lower-wealth...
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A Strong First Step
Despite the fact that the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the organization that held mortgages on about 258,000 properties in Chicago, is exempt from the registration requirement, the amendment has...
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