Ginnie Mae – Credit Suisse = ? A Biden MSR Tax? Does BKI + ICE = < 2?
By R. Christopher Whalen
The continuing battle in Washington over the proposed acquisition of conventional servicing software monopoly Black Knight (BKI) (k/n/a Loan Processing Services) by Wall Street data monopoly Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) seems to be drawing growing scrutiny. Just imagine putting two legacy technology monopolies, one in housing finance and the other in global markets, in a single value-killing burrito…Politico reports that Federal Financial Analytics managing partner Karen Petrou, one of the most respected banking consultants in Washington, has a new paper urging the Federal Trade Commission to block Intercontinental Exchange’s acquisition of Black Knight, citing potential systemic risks. We worry more about the 50-year old technology. FedFin disclosed that the paper was funded by an unnamed entity “for which this transaction has raised competition concerns” but said it retained full editorial control over the work. Karen’s book on the Fed is an important read BTW…