Markets Wired

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks made the following statement today at the meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) with respect to the FSOC’s activities-based review of secondary mortgage market activities and issuance of a public statement on the subject:

I support the FSOC’s activities-based review of the secondary mortgage market and the thoughtful analysis of the Government Sponsored Enterprises’ contribution to financial stability risks as well as of the efforts to address them, including the FSOC’s review of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) capital rule re-proposal. I thank the FSOC staff and staff of the other agencies for their hard work on this review. I also support FHFA Director Calabria’s efforts and believe that the FSOC’s recommendations strengthen the efforts already underway to enhance risk management and prudential controls in the housing finance system.

Of course, the OCC is also focused on the role of national banks and federal savings associations in that system. Consistent with the FSOC’s statement issued today, we look to avoid market distortions and different approaches to regulation of similar risks across the system and seek thereby to ensure that banks can continue playing a meaningful role in the provision of housing finance. I note that competition is itself an excellent form of risk management. One area in particular that we are looking at closely is the provision of capital relief for credit risk transfer transactions, an area also addressed in the FHFA’s re-proposal. I look forward to working with my counterparts on this council as we move forward.