TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/81279
COVER STORY THE TOP 5 INDUSTRY POWERHOUSES 1INDUSTRY POWERHOUSE EDWARD DEMARCO say that Edward DeMarco—acting director of the agency that regu- lates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the one-man bulwark against housing relief—won't leave a mark on the secondary mortgage mar- ket when he leaves. From Treasury draws for the Like him or hate him, you can't Probably not. The acting director continues to rebuff Congress over calls for expansions to refinance programs and principal reduc- tions, citing precedent-setting dangers for mortgage finance and an overwhelming need to protect taxpayers from further loss. His claims center around a "preserve and conserve" mandate handed to the FHFA nearly four years ago by some of the same lawmakers critical of DeMarco today. And that may make him the Will a legacy guarantee his job? 2INDUSTRY POWERHOUSE ELIZABETH WARREN GSEs to plush salaries for their chief executives and pushback on principal reductions for home- owners, the career bureaucrat- turned-lightning rod continues to shape housing policy with a radically minimalist, even Burkean conservatism that will linger for years. least popular man in town, even by Beltway standards. Calls for his resignation or sacking— whichever comes first—populate headlines with growing fre- quency, with 28 Democratic lawmakers signing a public letter for his head in January. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman joined the fray in July with a column he bluntly titled "Fire Ed DeMarco." Only Republicans stand by their man, with com- mittee chair Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) recently saying that DeMarco "deserves praise" for his stand against the majority. Only time—and poll results in November—will tell if he stays long enough to preside over the mortgage market that his beliefs will almost certainly build for years to come. Rebuffing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, DeMarco wrote in July that the net payout from principal reductions is "likely to be much less than $500 million." He refuses to reconsider reductions even today. 24 | THE M REPORT few had ever heard of Elizabeth Warren, the wonky, bespectacled lawyer-turned-professor passionate about bankruptcy law and finan- cial services reform. Now it seems everyone wants her in some lead- ership role—from liberal pollsters who recently placed her ahead of Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 to the commander-in-chief himself, whose party scheduled her to speak just before former President Bill Clinton at the nomi- nating convention in August. Currently running for Senate Before the financial crisis, 3INDUSTRY Dodd-Frank "is a strong bill that moves in the right direction," but one that needs more teeth. Translation: Expect a finan- cial services warrior, a la fellow Massachusetts Democrats Barney Frank and the late Ted Kennedy. And if her campaign finances suggest anything—OpenSecrets. org reveals that her war chest so far includes $16 million—housing isn't likely to see the end of the Harvard professor anytime soon. POWERHOUSE DOUG DUNCAN in Massachusetts with a D next to her name, Warren helped stand up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last year and stared down Republican law- makers eager to repeal it, moves that forced her ouster from the Beltway last summer. She may return to Washington, D.C., by January next year—and double down on the Dodd-Frank Act, much to the chagrin of big banks and financial services lobbyists who love to hate her. Where would Sen. Warren stand? In past statements, she said that systemically important banks and financial institutions "should be subject to far more aggressive oversight and have to pay more for the protec- tions they receive from the American taxpayer." She believes read, you may not find a hous- ing economist as celebrated today as Doug Duncan. According to his biography, the SVP and chief economist for Fannie Mae sits atop several lists for real estate luminaries, including Bloomberg/ Businessweek's "50 Most Powerful People in Real Estate" and Inman News' "100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders" for 2011, making him a shoo-in for our "5 by 5" list. Asked whether he deserves The way many news reports the acclaim, Duncan self-effac- ingly tells us to "ask his mother" what she thinks of the Ph.D.- carrying 40-something. Maternal commentary aside, Duncan gets the bulk of his kudos for the monthly diagnoses he makes about the economy and housing from his base camp at Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group.