Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg Surveillance": U.S. Financial Regulation
Washington, D.C., Of Counsel Michael Oxley, former Congressman and Chairman of the House Financial Services committee, appeared on the April 23, 2009, edition of Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg Surveillance" program discussing the current and future state of financial regulation in America.
Asked if he thought there could be new or reformed financial regulation, while in the midst of the current financial crisis, Oxley said, "I would expect that there will be some reform—actually crises drive reform—and in this case, I think it clearly is front and center." Oxley continued, "Clearly there were some major problems with the regulatory structure, the way mortgages were presented and sold. The [House Financial Services] Committee will have a lengthy hearing to iron out all those issues . . . I applaud the Committee for taking the leadership on this very important issue."
Oxley was asked, looking back, if he thought there was not enough regulation or just not enough enforcement of the regulations. "A little of both," said Oxley. "In the case of initiation of mortgages, it's clear that a lot of folks got mortgages who had no business getting those kinds of loans. It became very attractive for mortgage brokers and banks to push that money at them—after all, money was cheap. At that level, there was very little if any regulation of the activities of mortgage originators and mortgage brokers . . . once that ball started rolling down hill, it was almost impossible to stop."