WSJ reports:
The committee overseeing federal banking-bailout programs is investigating the lending practices of institutions that received public funds, following a rash of complaints about increases in interest rates and fees.Keep in mind, as I reported last week:
Since the Troubled Asset Relief Program was launched last October, banks bolstered by capital infusions have boosted charges on a wide range of routine transactions, hiked rates on credit cards and continued making loans criticized as predatory by consumer advocates. The TARP funds are intended to open lending spigots and make it easier for people to borrow money.
Warren is radically anti-bank and aggressively seeking power, her "investigation" of "overcharging" by banks that received TARP money will turn into an investigation of "overcharging" by the entire banking system, in an attempt to micro-manage banking in the direction of the politcally favored, if she gets her way.
The head of the [TARP Oversight] panel is Elizabeth Warren. Warren is a Harvard Law School professor and has collaborated with Americans for Fairness in Lending.(AFFIL)AFFIL is "a non-profit organization designed to draw national attention to the unregulated lending industry in America. AFFIL’s ultimate goal is government regulation of the lending industry to protect American consumers from financial products which deplete assets and can lead to bankruptcy and foreclosure." AFFIL is an umbrella organization for groups working on lending and asset-building issues. Its official partners include: ACORN.
Yup. And yet some free market thinkers (e.g., the Inst of Economis Affairs) still loudly procalim that Free Market Capitalism is alive and well. Hmmm ...
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