Recent Articles and Publications by Barry Zigas
The Federal Home Loan Banks Should Embrace Their Housing Mission. American Banker, December 21, 2023
Stop Subsidizing Wall Street Buying Up Homes, Housing Wire, September 19, 2022
Washington, We Need Every Dollar of Housing Aid, Calmatters Commentary, October 25, 2021
Building a Better Ladder of Housing Opportunity in the United States, Terner Center for Housing Innovation, UC Berkeley, February 25, 2021, consulting contributor.
Pulse, Renters Need Help Now -- Here's How to Deliver It, with Carol Galante, April 29, 2020.
Mortgage Media, Act with Speed and Focus to Protect Homeowners and Renters, March 24, 2020
Housing Wire, Reforming the Mortgage Interest Deduction: a Chance for Fairness for American Taxpayers, with Carol Galante, November 15, 2017
Urban Institute Housing Finance Policy Center, Achieving Access and Affordability in Mortgage Finance Reform, 2016
Economy.com, A More Promising Road to GSE Reform, March 22, 2016
Shelterforce Rooflines, FHFA's Proposed Duty to Serve Rule -- New Opportunities for Community Builders, January 8, 2016
Urban Wire, Making Sure the FHFA's Duty to Serve Regulations Help Underserved Markets, Urban Institute, December 31, 2015
Housing Wire, Recap and Release: Not the Right Path to Affordable Mortgages, November 16, 2015
Housing Wire, The Devil is in the Mortgage Finance Reform Details, September 1, 2014
Congress Blog, New Mortgage Rules Strike the Right Balance,The Hill.com, January 3, 2014
Orange County Register, Special Report, "Housing Recovery a 'Myth' For Many", Nov. 9, 2013
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Community Development Investment Review, Learning from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, Vol. 9, Issue 1, 2013
American Prospect, Restoring the Dream, Special Report, May, 2011
CSPAN's Washington Journal, August 18, 2010
CNN Money.com Fortune, "The Fannie-Freddie Turkey Shoot," August 16, 2010
American Banker Thanks, Hank! July 30, 2010
American Banker "Viewpoint" on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, published March 2, 2010
National Housing Conference Open House Blog,"What's Next for Fannie and Freddie?" December 24, 2009
What Does the Future Hold for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?, Shelterforce Magazine, Fall, 2009
Retooling HUD for a Catalytic Federal Government: A Report to Secretary Shaun Donovan, Chapter 1: Preventing Foreclosures, February, 2009
What Does Financial Capital Owe Society?, The American Prospect, July/August 2009
News Stories Featuring Barry Zigas
Bloomberg, Biden's First Steps on Eviction Ban Won't Prevent Larger Crisis, January 20, 2021 (paywalled)
Bloomberg Quint Trump's New Eviction Ban Leaves Tenants, Landlords Vulnerable, September 3, 2020
Bloomberg/BusinessWeek, If Landlords Get Wiped Out, Wall Street Wins, Not Renters, May 12, 2020
NBC News, Why It's Suddenly More Difficult to Get a Mortgage, April 14, 2020
CNBC, Lender Might Let You Miss a Few Mortgage Payments, April 8, 2020
Wall Street Journal, Home Loan Banks May Soon Channel Funds to More Mortgage Players, February 4, 2020
Mortgage Media, Barry Zigas and Dave Stevens: 2019 Outlook Cloudy, But Not Without Hope, January 14, 2019
Mortgage Media, What will the experts be Watching in 2019?, January 2, 2019
Wall St Journal Economics blog, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: If You Can't Kill Them, Merge Them, March 23, 2016
CNBC.com, Is a Reverse Mortgage Right for You?, March 21, 2016
TriblLive.com Splitting Mortgage Payments Could Save Homeowners Thousands, March 16, 2016
Bankrate.com, Sidestep Common, Costly Mistakes in Home Purchase, May 22, 2015
AP, 1 in 4 Renters Use Half the Income for Rent, May 3, 2015
Bankrate.com, 6 Must-Do Steps Before Buying a Home, January 26, 2015
Fast Company, The New Era of "Maybe" Mortgage Lending, January 22, 2015
Wall Street Journal, Minority Borrowers Feel Mortgage Pinch, September 22, 2014
Huffington Post, Elizaebeth Warren Splits Progressives on Mortgage Reform, July 14, 2014
Bloomberg, Treasury Begins Push to Revive US Mortgage Bond Market, June 26, 2014
Affordable Housing Finance, Housing Moves Further Out of Reach, March 24, 2014
Today Monay, New Mortgage Rules: No Traps, No Runarounds, Today.com, January 10, 2014
Washington Informer, Special Report: New Mortgage Rules Take Effect, January 10, 2014
Inland Valley News, Mel Watt Becomes New Director of Federal Housing Finance Agency, January 8, 2014
CNBC Nightly Business Report, Underwater Mortgage Insurance, November 21, 2013
Marketplace, Divvying Up the $13 Billion JP Morgan Fine, October 21, 2013
Bipartisan Policy Center, A Conversation about Housing Finance Reform,Video Interview with Zillow Chief Econmist Dr. Stan Humphries, October 7, 2013
American Banker, Affordability Will Be Key Challenge in GSE Debate, August 8, 2013
MSNBC, RIP Fannie and Freddie?,August 6, 2013
McClatchy News Service, Obama Trumpets Housing Gains, Calls for Affordable Mortgages, August 6, 2013
National Journal/The Atlantic Cities, We Could Have Fixed the Underwater Mortgage Crisis a Long Time Ago, July 30, 2013
New York Times, New Standards for Safe Loans, February 7, 2013
Florida's Mortgage Mess: Among the Worst in the U.S., WLRN, Miami/S. Florida, FL, January 2, 2013
Small Housing Inventory May Push Rental Demand for Years, Housing Wire Rewire, December 31, 2012
The American Prospect, Foreclosure Free-for-All, August 30, 2012
Washington Post, How the Presidential Election Affects the Real Estate Market, September 1, 2012
Seattle Times, Deal to Aid 1 Million Homeowners; Won't Solve Housing Market Woes,February 9, 2012
Bankrate.com, Tips to Help You Make a Smart Buy on a New Home, February 9, 2012
MN Public Radio Mid Morning Report, Refinancing for Underwater Homeowners,audio clip (10:45 am), February 2, 2012
Los Angeles Times, Obama Proposes Refinancing Plan for Underwater Borrowers, February 2, 2012
WSAV4 TV, Savannah, GA, Consumer Federation of America responds to Obama refinancing plan for underwater borrowers, video clip, February 1, 2012
Las Vegas Review-Journal, Lender One-on-One, It's A Buyer's Market...January 31, 2012
McClatchy Newspapers, Obama's New Mortgage Fraud Unit Met with Skepticism, January 25, 2012
MN Public Radio Mid Morning Report, Foreclosures Keep The Economy from Recovering, July 12, 2011
Wall St. Journal, White House Raps Banks on Home Affordable Modification Program Failings, June 9, 2011
SmartMoney.com, Where Real Estate Listings Fail, June 8, 2011
American Banker, Bankers, Consumer Groups Call for Wider QRM Criteria, June 3, 2011
Fox Business News, 5 Things Homeowners Can Bargain For, June 3, 2011
Eden Housing Podcast, The Future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, April 29, 2011
Washington Post, Downpayment Proposal Could Make a Mountain Out of A Mortgage, April 9, 2011
Planet Money, Special Reports on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, March 29 and April 1, 2011
Washington Post, Obama Plan on Fannie, Freddie May Boost Mortgage Rates, February 11, 2011
Wall St. Journal, Republicans Welcome Obama's Fannie, Freddie Plan, February 11, 2011
Housing Wire.com, Housing Advocates See See GSE Reforms Putting Affordable Housing Goals at Risk, February 11, 2011
Real LI, Newsday.com, 4 Tips for Finding a Good Real Estate Agent, January 17, 2011
FINS Finance, WSJ Digital Network, Office of Housing Hiring Delayed Until March, At Least, January 7, 2011
New York Times, Foreclosure Frenzy Dismays Aspiring Homeowners, December 12, 2010
Housing Predictor, "Consumers Union Joins to Halt Extra Home Sale Fees," October 13, 2010
Minnesota Public Radio, "Misbehaving Banks Put Wrench in Foreclosure Process," October 6, 2010
Maine Public Radio, "GMAC Suspends Some Foreclosures in Maine," September 24, 2010
American Banker, Democrats Preparing Bill to Expand CRA Beyond Banks, September 22, 2010
C-SPAN Washington Journal, The Future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, August 18, 2010
Wall Street Journal, New Rules for Mortgage Lenders, August 1, 2010
Bloomberg, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Debate Begins, July 8, 2010
Washington Independent, "A 'Disastrous' Republican Proposal to Redo Fannie and Freddie," May 11, 2010
Associated Press, "Freddie Mac Seeks $10B in Aid After 1Q Loss," May 5, 2010
Washington Post, "Discrepancies Detailed in Minority Foreclosures," April 28, 2010
Bankrate.com, "Four Tips for Single, Female Homebuyers," April 23, 2010
American Banker, "Treasury's HAMP Cash: From Carrot to Cudgel," April 23, 2010
Baltimore Sun, "HAMP: What the Loan Mod Changes Mean," March 27, 2010
Boston Globe, "Frank wants details on mortgage lender overhaul," March 24, 2010
Weekend Marketplace radio program on FHA and HUD IG reviews of lenders with high claim rates, January, 2010.
ULI webinar on Obama housing policies, December, 2009
Marketplace on mortgage delinquencies, December 2, 2008
Boston Globe, Obama Housing Budget Proposals, February 19, 2009
NHC Seeks Legislative Director
The National Housing Conference is seeking a Legislative Director to lead NHC’s work on public policy issues related to affordable housing and advocating for NHC’s policy priorities at the national level.e Director to lead its policy. The candidate will report directly to NHC’s CEO, and indirectly to the Director of the Center for Housing Policy, NHC’s research and policy development affiliate.
A full job description can be found here.
Read more...Kiwis Pull It Out!
Watch New Zealand’s All Whites World Cup team pull it out from Down Under in the final 30 seconds of play to seal a draw with Slovakia and live to fight another day!
Read more...Housing Finance Conference
On August 17, HUD Secretary Shaun S. Donovan and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner convened a Washington, DC conference in Treasury’s historic Cash Room to discuss the future of the housing finance system. You can review a webcastof the two plenary panel discussions on Treasury’s website. Regional conferences are reportedly to follow later this year as the Administration develops its own options and recommendations for how to rebuild the system after the mortgage crisis and collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Read more...CFA Handicaps Senate Markup
Consumer Federation of America is publishing a “cheat sheet” on the Senate Banking Commitee’s markup of financial services reform legislation, pointing out “who wins and who loses” on major amendments pending before the committee, which begins its markup this week.
“Recklessness among big banks and Wall Street firms and regulatory failures by federal agencies triggered a prolonged recession that continues to cause great hardship for many Americans,” said CFA Legislative Director Travis Plunkett. “The American people are looking to the Senate to strengthen consumer and investor protections and restore the safety and soundness of the financial system by closing gaps in the regulatory system.”
The purpose of the “scorecard” is to help consumers and others understand who and what interests are behind the plethora of amendments that have been registered in advance of the mark up.
“Americans need to know who’s on their side and who is offering amendments that will leave them vulnerable to dangerous gaps in our regulatory system for which consumers and taxpayers have had to foot the bill,” said Susan Weinstock, Financial Reform Campaign Director for CFA. “We strongly encourage all Americans to follow this debate and let their Senators know how they feel about the positions their members are taking.”
The scorecard will be updated on the CFA website. Check often to find out who stands to win and who stands to lose from the Senate commitee’s actions.
Read more...Nice Tattoo!
NY Times columnist Frank Rich uses the best-selling novel and just-released movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to tee off on Wall Street and the Senate’s consideration of financial reform in today’s column. As only Rich can, he focuses on this pop culture phenomenon’s sub-plot of financial wrong doing and the financial press’s credulous complicity with financial manipulations by high-flying moguls.
It’s true that the libel conviction of one of the series’ protagonists, Mikel Bloomquist, launches the events that lead to his unravelling of a 40-year old murder and the unmasking of a deranged killer. It also introduces him to the central and compelling character of the story, Lisbeth Salander, a disaffected, punk hacker/feminist avenger who with impunity violates computer privacy. That her doing so provides critical clues to both the financial and murderous mysteries at the heart of the novel justifies it to the reader, and apparently also to Rich.
I love this novel and its sequel, and rushed to see the Swedish-made movie on the day it opened in US theaters. I think Salander is one of the most intriguing characters in modern popular mystery fiction. But I also think it’s ironic that Rich overlooks her ethical lapses, or perhaps her own unique and personal ethical standards, and focuses instead only on author Stieg Larsson’s rich condemnation of the Swedish financial press.
Does he support the notion that it takes a thief to catch a thief?
Read more...