The purpose of this book is to examine the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the financial crisis. First of all, it will explain their role in public policy and in the provision of mortgage financing for housing, as envisaged originally and subsequently. The aim will not be to examine this throughout the decades since the establishment of Fannie Mae in the 30s, but to highlight their role in the 90s as a result of political decisions, focusing on mortgage lending. Politicians found it easier to encourage/oblige them to comply, partly as a result of political appointees in senior executive and board positions. It is worth looking at the experience and skills which the appointees brought to these roles and the effects of possible lack of relevant experience in running these institutions, as well as changes in the legislative framework and the ways in which this affected bank lending. The former may explain the accounting scandals at both organizations in 2004 and 2005. Despite such very public problems, these government sponsored enterprises were able to engage in extensive lobbying throughout most of this decade. The effects of all these factors, including the lack of oversight of these two institutions and the political drive to increase home ownership, whatever the costs, should be seen as the seeds of the subsequent financial crisis. e lobbying, which had an impact on the light touch oversight. The outcome for the banking sector, for the many individuals who took out mortgages, and especially for politicians and public policy will be spelt out and the lessons to be learnt, from following expedient and probably self-serving political aims.
**
Review
It is astonishing and somewhat unsettling that the best scholarly work about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their role in the 2008 financial crisis should have produced by Oonagh McDonald, a British student of the financial markets. The book is doubly useful because Ms McDonald cannot be accused of bias on an issue that has become excessively politicized in the US. If you want to know how US government housing policy led to the financial crisis, it is in these pages. -- Peter J. Wallison, Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute, USA Finally, an accurate portrayal of the causes of the 2008 financial crisis... Ms. McDonald lays out how good intentions and contributory negligence of political power-players converted the American Dream from a reward for hard work into an entitlement for those who failed. -- Louis S. Harvey, President, Dalbar, Inc. USA More than any book I have read on the financial crisis, this captures the perils of politically driven lending. Oonagh McDonald shows how ideology, in this case a misplaced belief that home ownership is always good, deterred both public scrutiny of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and market discipline. Supposed regulators became cheer-leaders and executives lined their pockets in the name of the American dream. And it remains unclear whether the monsters at the heart of the sub-prime crisis - now in state care - will be killed off, as this book rightly suggests they should be. -- Jane Fuller, co-director of the CSFI (Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation) think-tank and former financial editor of the Financial Times The collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was a crucial part of the Great Meltdown in financial markets. Dr McDonald has now traced with great care and accomplished expertise the story behind this saga. Her meticulous research and her clarity in telling the story will be a great help to all readers in understanding what happened and why. I recommend this book highly to all who are in any way interested in the events of the Great Meltdown. -- Professor Meghnad Desai, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK There could be no better guide through the sub-prime crisis which triggered the great financial and economic collapse of 2008 than Oonagh McDonald. She possesses all the gifts - financial acumen and experience, an insider's knowledge of politics and government and the forensic talents of a top flight scholar. This book will endure as long as the fall of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is remembered -- Professor Peter Hennessy, Queen Mary, University of London, UK A serious study and done in enough depth to appeal to academics and researchers but ... accessible enough to appeal to the general public given the obvious importance of the topic. Her practical knowledge of politics and financial services is very illuminating throughout. Thorough and interesting and written with very perceptive insights from an experienced politician and regulator. -- Professor Robert Hudson, Newcastle University Business School, UK From any perspective the current financial crisis should interest both practitioners and academics, there is much to learn and digest, and Oonagh's book will provide invaluable insights for many generations to come. It is highly readable and contains a wonderful blend of thorough scholarship and a detailed appreciation of the intertwining of politics and markets. Oonagh has laid bare the root causes of the subprime crisis and she highlights the dangers of politicians interfering in markets they do not understand. This is a thought provoking book and a timely reminder that markets and their specific politics always need close scrutiny if untold costs are to be avoided. -- Professor Kevin Keasey, Head of Accounting and Finance, Leeds University Business School, UK The McDonald book is remarkable for its relentless focus on the effects of a low-income lending ideology as a cause of the financial crisis... we are blessed with a thorough and clear-eyed view that could only be brought to the issue by a scholar looking in from outside. Forbes In this thoroughly researched, practically definitive tome, the author 's story of the American dream turned nightmare could hardly be more different than Obama's version. -- Gene Epstein Barron's Oonagh McDonald has produced a book that is scholarly and comprehensive, but at the same time, despite the complexity of the subject-matter, lucid and eminently readable. -- Lord Lawson Financial Times
About the Author
Oonagh McDonald is a former UK Member of Parliament, a board member of the Financial Services Authority, an international regulatory expert and the author of several books, including Retail Banking in Europe: a view from the top (2002). As a director of various companies and regulatory bodies, she has in-depth experience of financial regulation, and was awarded the CBE in 1998 for her contribution to financial regulation and business. ****
The purpose of this book is to examine the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the financial crisis. First of all, it will explain their role in public policy and in the provision of mortgage financing for housing, as envisaged originally and subsequently. The aim will not be to examine this throughout the decades since the establishment of Fannie Mae in the 30s, but to highlight their role in the 90s as a result of political decisions, focusing on mortgage lending. Politicians found it easier to encourage/oblige them to comply, partly as a result of political appointees in senior executive and board positions. It is worth looking at the experience and skills which the appointees brought to these roles and the effects of possible lack of relevant experience in running these institutions, as well as changes in the legislative framework and the ways in which this affected bank lending. The former may explain the accounting scandals at both organizations in 2004 and 2005. Despite such very public problems, these government sponsored enterprises were able to engage in extensive lobbying throughout most of this decade. The effects of all these factors, including the lack of oversight of these two institutions and the political drive to increase home ownership, whatever the costs, should be seen as the seeds of the subsequent financial crisis. e lobbying, which had an impact on the light touch oversight. The outcome for the banking sector, for the many individuals who took out mortgages, and especially for politicians and public policy will be spelt out and the lessons to be learnt, from following expedient and probably self-serving political aims.
**
Review
It is astonishing and somewhat unsettling that the best scholarly work about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their role in the 2008 financial crisis should have produced by Oonagh McDonald, a British student of the financial markets. The book is doubly useful because Ms McDonald cannot be accused of bias on an issue that has become excessively politicized in the US. If you want to know how US government housing policy led to the financial crisis, it is in these pages. -- Peter J. Wallison, Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute, USA Finally, an accurate portrayal of the causes of the 2008 financial crisis... Ms. McDonald lays out how good intentions and contributory negligence of political power-players converted the American Dream from a reward for hard work into an entitlement for those who failed. -- Louis S. Harvey, President, Dalbar, Inc. USA More than any book I have read on the financial crisis, this captures the perils of politically driven lending. Oonagh McDonald shows how ideology, in this case a misplaced belief that home ownership is always good, deterred both public scrutiny of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and market discipline. Supposed regulators became cheer-leaders and executives lined their pockets in the name of the American dream. And it remains unclear whether the monsters at the heart of the sub-prime crisis - now in state care - will be killed off, as this book rightly suggests they should be. -- Jane Fuller, co-director of the CSFI (Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation) think-tank and former financial editor of the Financial Times The collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was a crucial part of the Great Meltdown in financial markets. Dr McDonald has now traced with great care and accomplished expertise the story behind this saga. Her meticulous research and her clarity in telling the story will be a great help to all readers in understanding what happened and why. I recommend this book highly to all who are in any way interested in the events of the Great Meltdown. -- Professor Meghnad Desai, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK There could be no better guide through the sub-prime crisis which triggered the great financial and economic collapse of 2008 than Oonagh McDonald. She possesses all the gifts - financial acumen and experience, an insider's knowledge of politics and government and the forensic talents of a top flight scholar. This book will endure as long as the fall of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is remembered -- Professor Peter Hennessy, Queen Mary, University of London, UK A serious study and done in enough depth to appeal to academics and researchers but ... accessible enough to appeal to the general public given the obvious importance of the topic. Her practical knowledge of politics and financial services is very illuminating throughout. Thorough and interesting and written with very perceptive insights from an experienced politician and regulator. -- Professor Robert Hudson, Newcastle University Business School, UK From any perspective the current financial crisis should interest both practitioners and academics, there is much to learn and digest, and Oonagh's book will provide invaluable insights for many generations to come. It is highly readable and contains a wonderful blend of thorough scholarship and a detailed appreciation of the intertwining of politics and markets. Oonagh has laid bare the root causes of the subprime crisis and she highlights the dangers of politicians interfering in markets they do not understand. This is a thought provoking book and a timely reminder that markets and their specific politics always need close scrutiny if untold costs are to be avoided. -- Professor Kevin Keasey, Head of Accounting and Finance, Leeds University Business School, UK The McDonald book is remarkable for its relentless focus on the effects of a low-income lending ideology as a cause of the financial crisis... we are blessed with a thorough and clear-eyed view that could only be brought to the issue by a scholar looking in from outside. Forbes In this thoroughly researched, practically definitive tome, the author 's story of the American dream turned nightmare could hardly be more different than Obama's version. -- Gene Epstein Barron's Oonagh McDonald has produced a book that is scholarly and comprehensive, but at the same time, despite the complexity of the subject-matter, lucid and eminently readable. -- Lord Lawson Financial Times
About the Author
Oonagh McDonald is a former UK Member of Parliament, a board member of the Financial Services Authority, an international regulatory expert and the author of several books, including Retail Banking in Europe: a view from the top (2002). As a director of various companies and regulatory bodies, she has in-depth experience of financial regulation, and was awarded the CBE in 1998 for her contribution to financial regulation and business. ****