US lawmakers push for domestic covered bonds market

Proposals to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would open the way for the development of domestic covered bonds issuance in the US.

Scott Garrett, chairman of House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and GSEs, and proponent of covered bonds

While the influx of international covered bond issuers has been welcome, an even more positive development would be the emergence of a market involving US banks. It seemed things were moving in that direction in March 2010 with the introduction of the US Covered Bonds Act, the leading advocates of which were Republican congressmen Scott Garrett, Paul Kanjorski and Spencer Bachus.

The move to get the act through the US legislative process stalled soon after it was published, with the focus of