Financial Services and Education Project: Press

Urgency for New Rules for Finance Is Slipping Away | The Associated Press

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:51:00 -0400

"The administration made a calculated decision," says Ellen Seidman, former Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision and senior fellow at The New America Foundation ... and more »

National Consumer Protection Agency Would Upend Fragmented Structure | Los Angeles Times

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:20:00 -0400

Seidman, now a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, said she created an award for the best bank examiner on consumer affairs and compliance issues ... and more »

Treasury Department Considers SAFE-T Proposal

Communications — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:53:00 -0400

Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Treasury Department is considering a policy to create an opt-out account, into which federal income tax refunds would be direct deposited. In an interview for an article today in the Wall Street Journal, Michael Barr, Assistant Secretary for the Treasury Department described the proposal, which was developed by Melissa Koide at the New America Foundation to increase access to banking services and jumpstart savings

Coaches for a Game of Money | New York Times

Communications — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:58:00 -0500

You can read books,” said Karen Murrell, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, a nonprofit policy research organization in Washington. ...

Ellen Seidman on NPR | 'FDIC, Treasury At Odds Over Use Of Bailout Money'

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:24:00 -0500

Ellen Seidman, a fellow at the New America Foundation, says Congress is unlikely to force Treasury to adopt the FDIC proposal before President-elect Barack Obama takes office. But that doesn't mean the FDIC proposal is dead.

"This is also out here so that in a different Congress and a different administration, there's something ready to roll," Seidman says. LINK to audio

Ellen Seidman in The Washington Independent | 'The Best Explanation so Far for Paulson’s Bailout Behavior'

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:07:00 -0500

The question crossed my mind after New America Foundation’s Ellen Seidman described as “really inept” a news conference on Tuesday by Treasury, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to announce a new program to streamline loan modifications. Seidman said Treasury completely oversold the plan, to make it seem like it would cover more mortgages than the plan actually called for. Then, to make it worse, the Treasury spokesman ran out of the briefing room to avoid answering questions. LINK

Ellen Seidman in The Washington Independent | 'The Expectations Game and the Government’s Mortgage Plan'

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:10:00 -0500

Tuesday night, I checked in with Ellen Seidman of the New America Foundation, who specializes in the financial services industry, to find out her reaction. Seidman, who closely follows loan modifications, said that people don’t really understand that the Fannie and Freddie plan is aimed at heading off foreclosures among prime borrowers — the next segment of homeowners in danger of defaulting on their mortgages. In that sense, the program has some merit. LINK

Ellen Seidman in CongressNow | 'Experts Urge Caution in Financial Regulatory Overhaul'

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:19:00 -0500

Ellen Seidman, a financial services policy director for New America Foundation's Asset Building Program, outlined a set of guidelines for lawmakers to take into consideration for improving the financial services regulatory regime. Policy changes should incorporate consistent regulation based on activity rather than entity, effective enforcement, transparency, as well as capital adequacy standards, Seidman said. LINK (subscription required)

Ellen Seidman in American Banker | 'Why $700B Now Seems Like a Down Payment'

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:42:00 -0400

"We've been jumping from program to program, and if there is an infinite number of things we can do with money, there is a need for an infinite amount of money," said Ellen Seidman, director of the New America Foundation's Financial Services and Education Project and a former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. "If you keep expanding the scope of what it is you are going to do with the money, you keep expanding your need for money." LINK (subscription required)

Ellen Seidman on NPR's Morning Edition | 'FDIC Chairwoman Suddenly A Star'

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:42:00 -0400

Bair has a reputation as a consumer advocate who hasn't always won the praise of the lending industry. Two years ago, when the economy and housing were booming, she warned lenders that they needed to rework subprime loans -- or risk damaging the economy.

It wasn't a popular position at the time, said Ellen Seidman, a former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision and now a fellow at the New America Foundation.

"To some extent, she was getting the 'Hey lady, you're not supposed to be talking about this' reaction," said Seidman. "She began very early saying we have a problem here." LINK to audio

Ellen Seidman on the Brian Lehrer Show | '30 Issues: The Home Front'

Communications — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:25:00 -0400

Ellen Seidman, director of New America Foundation's Financial Services and Education Project with the Asset Building Program, discusses the federal government’s role in providing affordable housing and promoting home ownership. 30 Issues in 30 Days continues with a look at Barack Obama's and John McCain’s plans to deal with affordable housing. Full Story

Ellen Seidman in the Washington Independent | 'Looking Out for the Homeowner'

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:17:00 -0400

Ellen Seidman of the New America Foundation, who studies the financial-services industry, said the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and other consumer-protection efforts “have had a long history of being terribly underfunded,” making them less effective. There’s no guarantee a financial-products safety commission, strapped for funds, would escape the same fate -- especially when its goal is to intervene before “the bad stuff” gets to consumers, she said. LINK

Ellen Seidman in the Wall Street Journal | 'Nations Face Thorny Issues in Acquiring Stakes in Banks'

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:22:00 -0400

One risk facing policy makers is that if the capital injections are seen as a government seal of approval, that could destabilize banks that don't receive investments, causing their customers to jump to other institutions, said Ellen Seidman, a former economic adviser in the Clinton administration.

"It's counterintuitive, but if we've learned one thing from this crisis, it's that we have a hard time predicting the behavior of the smaller savers and investors," said Ms. Seidman, now at the New America Foundation. LINK

Ellen Seidman in BusinessWeek | 'They Warned Us About the Mortgage Crisis'

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:25:00 -0400

Assignee liability would radically reshape that market by making everyone involved potentially responsible when things go bad. Investment banks that created mortgage-backed securities and investors who bought them would be liable for financial damage if mortgages turned out to be fraudulent. The financial industry opposed assignee liability, maintaining that it would cripple the market for asset-backed securities. Major ratings agencies later agreed that allowing unlimited damages would be disruptive. The agencies threatened to stop evaluating many bonds tied to mortgages covered by the Georgia law.

But some banking experts speculate that if Georgia's example had spurred more states to adopt broad assignee liability, greater caution would have prevailed in the mortgage-securities market, possibly preventing the blowups of Lehman, Bear Stearns, and other once-mighty institutions. "If the Georgia law had held, it is possible that other states would have followed and there might have been change earlier," says Ellen Seidman, who headed the OTS from 1997 through 2001. LINK

Ellen Seidman in The Washington Independent | 'Homeowners Come Up Empty in Bailout'

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:39:00 -0400

If Bank of America follows through with the loan modifications, “it would begin to break a huge logjam,” said Ellen Seidman, who studies the financial-services industry at the New America Foundation. It would set an example for other lenders -- and for the government. “But I’d hold off on getting excited about the serviced loans,” Seidman said, “until we see something starting to happen.” LINK

Ellen Seidman on NPR's Morning Edition | 'FDIC Considers Insuring Larger Bank Accounts'

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:02:00 -0400

Ellen Seidman, financial services policy director for the New America Foundation think-tank, said the FDIC should not take on that risk without also passing on the cost.

"They've got to take into account the additional risk that they're taking on in setting the premiums," she said. "I've seen some talk of saying, 'Well, we're going to increase the deposit limit but we're not going to increase the premiums.' I don't think that makes any sense." LINK to audio

Ellen Seidman in Wall Street Journal MarketWatch | 'Money for Main Street'

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:22:00 -0400

Raising the limit will be particularly helpful for small-business owners who will be able to worry less about keeping accounts at separate banks, said Ellen Seidman, financial services policy director in the Asset Building program of the New America Foundation. "Splitting among several banks is terribly inconvenient for running a business," Seidman said. "Also, as a matter of business, the more money you have in a bank, the better services you tend to get from that bank." LINK

Ellen Seidman in American Banker | 'Wamu Vanishes, So May OTS and the Thrift Charter'

Communications — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:17:00 -0400

The failure of the largest thrift in the nation has sealed the fate of the Office of Thrift Supervision, observers said Friday.

Washington Mutual Inc. accounted for about 20% of the assets overseen by the agency and 12% of its budget. Its collapse and subsequent sale to JPMorgan Chase & Co., which said it would not keep Wamu's thrift charter, heightens concerns about the OTS' viability and spurred staunch defenders to rethink its future.

"I don't know how anyone can't be questioning the viability of the OTS," said Lawrence Kaplan, a lawyer at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP and a former OTS official.

Even Ellen Seidman, a former OTS director and longtime advocate of the agency's independence, said Wamu's collapse changes things.

"You can't just say the status quo is acceptable," she said, though she stopped short of supporting a regulatory merger. "Whereas my previous position on the subject was, you are not going to gain a whole lot by getting rid of one agency ... , I think there are more things to thin k about. The future of the OTS is firmly on the table now." . . . Full Story (subcription only)… more

Ellen Seidman in American Banker | 'Paulson Plan: Taking Steps Toward Clarity'

Communications — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:23:00 -0400

Despite a live presidential explanation Wednesday night, two days of testimony by top government officials, and an endless series of lawmaker press conferences, many questions about the proposed bailout plan persist. Below, we offer answers to some frequently asked questions:

Who is the bailout supposed to help? . . .

Why doesn't the government just buy vacant real estate? Wouldn't that be easier? . . .

Observers also make this point: The problem is confidence on Wall Street, and buying vacant properties would not address that.

"It 's not clear that the foreclosed real estate or even the mortgages still held on the banks' books will have the effect" of stabilizing the markets, said Ellen Seidman, a former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. "Of course, it's not clear that buying up MBS will, either." . . . Full story (subcription only)

Ellen Seidman in Pro Publica | 'The Regulators Who Saw Crisis Coming'

Communications — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:56:00 -0400

Ellen Seidman, former director of the Treasury’s Office of Thrift Supervision, testified in that capacity before the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services on February 8, 2000 that her office had warned repeatedly of the risks of subprime lending: “Subprime lending, which involves lending to borrowers who have a significantly higher risk of default based on their credit repayment history, has been the subject of intensive OTS scrutiny by our policy and supervisory staff for several years. We started sounding warnings about risks arising from this lending activity as early as June 1998.” LINK