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July 23, 2008

Fannie and Freddie: One HELOC to Go, Please

Late today the U.S. House of Representatives okayed Treasury Secretary Paulson's aid plan for beleaguered mortgage financing duopoly Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. My favorite part? The plan includes, as requested, an unlimited line of credit for Paulson to exercise on behalf of the two companies.

Kind of ironic, isn't it? The bailout plan for mortgage-struck Freddie and Fannie includes something awfully similar to the sort of home equity line of credit (HELOC) nuttiness that got the mortgage market in trouble in the first place. Maybe we should call it a NELOC -- a national equity line of credit. Good thing the U.S. still has some.

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