News Summary for September 28
David Lereah appeared on CNN Paula Zahn Now commenting on home prices. “The housing market went through a very big boom. We needed a correction. Prices got too high. Now we need prices to come down to bring people back into the buying marketplace,” said Lereah. Tom Stevens testified on Wednesday before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance and Accountability on the OCC’s decision in December 2005 to grant three national banks the ability to enter into speculative real estate development transactions. The Wall Street Journal wrote about the hearing and quoted Tom Stevens on his concerns over the expansion of bank powers. Stevens said, "What we have stated and what we still firmly believe is that the OCC's actions set in motion a process that will result in the regulator authorizing national banks to engage in real-estate brokerage, which is currently prohibited."
