Quote:
Originally Posted by pghquest
"Barney Frank - Discover the Networks
[i]Starting in the early 1990s, Frank sought to stifle efforts by regulators, Congress, and the White House to place some oversight over Fannie and Freddie's risky lending practices."
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Almost without exception, a member of the House wields power only when s/he is a member of the majority. Likewise, influence declines the further one sits from committee chairmanship. So Frank's perspective during the period of 1995-2007 is more or less irrelevant; he was incapable of accomplishing anything without the Republican majority. As late as 1998, Frank was only the
fifth-ranking Democrat on the Banking and Financial Services Committee, so it's reasonable to dismiss his influence prior to 1995 as well. Which leaves 2007-08 as the of era of his onerous meddling.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of the loans that went delinquent during the Financial Crisis were
subprime and
Alt-A (figure 1.), and purchases of those loans peaked in 2005-06 (figure 2.). Moreover, a relatively scant proportion of the troubled loans were actually backed by the GSEs (Fannie & Freddie)(figure 2.). So give poor Barney a break -- vast though his sins may be, your theory has no basis in reality.
1.
2.
Source:
Financial Crisis Inquiry Report.