April 21, 2013

We took the fight directly to the home of Ed DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

He is single-handedly blocking mortgage relief for millions of underwater homeowners. "You're causing us to lose our homes, so we have come to your home," said NPA leader Cliff Parks. NPA leaders testified that principal reduction is the difference between keeping or losing a home. Mr. Demarco did not answer his door to sign the resignation letter we had brought, so we read it aloud and called on President Obama to take action and nominate a replacement for DeMarco NOW!  

Watch a video of the visit:

Updated August 1, 2012

One of the reasons that the $25 billion foreclosure settlement with big banks was so inadequate was because of this man - Edward DeMarco.

DeMarco is a holdover from the Bush administration, and has a very powerful position: he is the director of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) which oversees Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae--the owner of half the mortgages in the country.

DeMarco's job is to do everything in his power to help Americans avoid foreclosure, but he seems to think otherwise. In fact, in our fight to get justice for homeowners across the country, Edward DeMarco might just be enemy number one.

Today, two things happened. First, FHFA produced a study that said principal reductions would actually save taxpayers more than a billion dollars. And then DeMarco announced that he still wouldn't allow any principal reductions!¹

Secondly, Secretary Geithner even released a letter challenging DeMarco's logic and calling on him to change his mind.²

DeMarco has used his position to repeatedly side with Wall Street, and he's blocked requests by Congress and the Obama administration to help struggling homeowners by reducing principals on loans. Principal reduction -- which means resetting underwater mortgages so they're closer to fair market value -- is an essential solution that millions of families need, but DeMarco is dead set against them.

The good news is, DeMarco's getting called out in big ways. On February 29, progressive leaders in Congress called on DeMarco to help underwater homeowners by cutting the principal on their loans.³ The same day, the business-friendly editors at Bloomberg News sharply challenged DeMarco's judgment on the issue of principal reduction. California Attorney General Kamala Harris also asked DeMarco to halt foreclosures altogether until he seriously looks at solutions for homeowners, including principal reductions.⁴ 

We're glad to see more pressure on DeMarco. But we've got an even better idea for DeMarco: find a new job. And it's up to President Obama to make sure he does.

Tell President Obama to fire Edward DeMarco immediately and appoint a new director that won't stand in the way of relief for homeowners.

¹ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/business/us-agency-bars-fannie-and-freddie-from-reducing-principal.html?_r=1
² http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/tfg-letter-demarco.aspx
Co-Chairs Grijalva, Ellison Call for Justice for Underwater Mortgage Holders
³ Bloomberg News: Housing Chief Should See the Upside of Forgiving Debts
⁴ NY Times: Pressure Grows on Fannie and Freddie to Cut Principal on Loans