The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today heard from SIGTARP Neil Barofsky and Acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Tim Massad on the status of the TARP program. The session also touched on whether big banks remain too big to fail, with considerable discussion focusing on sessions that TBTF remains a serious concern despite the Dodd-Frank Act. Chairman Issa (R-CA) asked pointed questions about the HAMP program; Mr. Massad and Mr. Barofsky expressed disappointment with it. Rep. Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. McHenry (R-NC) announced that they have introduced a bill to end HAMP. The Oversight Committee has no legislative jurisdiction, but Rep. McHenry will likely seek to advance the bill through FinServ. Ranking Member Cummings (D-MD) and other Democrats also pressed the witnesses on the poor performance of mortgage servicers. Treasury called it “abysmal” even as some explanations were offered, while the SIGTARP endorsed FDIC Chairman Bair’s servicer-reform proposals. The Oversight panel will shortly turn to servicing, the chairman indicated.
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