Greenspan highlights mortgage agency concerns

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan yesterday warned that government backing for US mortgage agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, may prompt those that trade their mortgage securities to take excess risks. His comments are likely to further heat up an already contentious debate, in which both government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are being attacked for their risk management practices.

As private corporations that operate under government charters, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac enjoy government support with lines of credit from the US Treasury, tax breaks and exemptions from some Securities and Exchange Commission fees, as well as disclosure, requirements. Such subsidies have stirred members of Congress, notably Louisiana Republican Richard Baker, to campaign for the GSEs to have their government benefits withdrawn.

In his speech to the International Institute of Finance in

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Stemming the tide of rising FX settlement risk

As the trading of emerging markets currencies gathers pace and broader uncertainty sweeps across financial markets, CLS is exploring alternative services designed to mitigate settlement risk for the FX market

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