Banking Regulator Played Advocate Over Enforcer

Washington Post by Binyamin Appelbaum, Ellen Nakashima | Nov. 23, 2008 (News Report)

When Countrywide Financial felt pressured by federal agencies charged with overseeing it, executives at the giant mortgage lender simply switched regulators in the spring of 2007.

The benefits were clear: Countrywide's new regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision, promised more flexible oversight of issues related to the bank's mortgage lending. For OTS, which depends on fees paid by banks it regulates and competes with other regulators to ... Full Story »

Posted by Leo Romero

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Fabrice Florin
4.1
 by Fabrice Florin - Nov. 23, 2008

Excellent report on the ineffective oversight of Countrywide Financial by its regulatory agency, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). This in-depth investigation provides extensive factual evidence from multiple sources to document the failure of OTS to fulfill its public duties and police the thrift industry it was supposed to regulate. A textbook example of enterprise journalism.

The agency’s goal is to “allow thrifts to operate with a wide breadth of freedom from regulatory intrusion.”

James Gilleran, former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision

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Fabrice's Rating

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4.1

Good
from 12 answers
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4.0
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4.0
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4.0
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4.0
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4.0
Popularity
4.5
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5.0
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4.0
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