voa标准英语2008-Mortgage Finance Officials Defend Actions on Ris

U.S. lawmakers challenged former top executives of major government-backed mortgage finance companies to explain why they took on billions of dollars in risky¹ loans. Questioning of the former heads of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac came as a House of Representatives committee released documents showing that the executives ignored warnings about the dangers the investments could pose.

The federal government assumed control of both companies this past September in the early days of the meltdown in the U.S. financial system driven by a collapse² of the housing market.

Known as Government Sponsored Enterprises, they are public-government hybrids³ and together own or guarantee half of the more than $11 trillion in outstanding mortgage-based debt in the United States.
　

House Oversight4 and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, 09 Dec 2008

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, a Democrat⁵ from California called decisions by the former executives, in some cases made despite internal warnings, irresponsible.

"Their own risk managers raised warning after warning about the dangers of investing heavily in the sub prime and alternative mortgage market," said Henry Waxman. "But these warnings were ignored"

The former officials defended actions they took as the companies ventured deeper and deeper in the sub-prime mortgage market, saying they did so to remain competitive in the larger lending market.

Richard Syron headed Freddie Mac:

"If it had not done so it could not have remained competitive or even relevant in the residential⁶ mortgage market we were designed to serve," said Richard Syron.

Franklin Raines, former head of Fannie Mae, asserted that federal regulators encouraged the companies to expand risker loans, while failing to exert enough oversight.

"It is remarkable⁷ that during the period that Fannie Mae substantially increased its exposure to credit risk its regulator made no visible effort to enforce any limits," said Franklin Raines.

But while Republicans and Democrats⁸ differ on the root causes of the problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, there was bipartisan impatience⁹ with these and other explanations.

Republican Daryl Issa said the four men were, in his words, in complete denial of any responsibility.

"Your whole excuse for going to risky and unreasonable¹⁰ loans that are defaulting at an incredibly high rate is that everyone is doing it," said Daryl Issa. "If we don't do it, we'll be left out."

Representative Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat, pressed former Fannie Mae executive Daniel Mudd on why he didn't follow the advice of the company's risk officer:

KUCINICH: "Do you take responsibility for the risks that your company took when you ignored the advice of your credit risk officer and when you cut the budget, do you take that responsibility?"

MUDD: "I followed the process to listen to all of my staff, not just the chief risk officer."

KUCINICH: "But what did you do though. What did you do. Did you cut the budget of your credit risk officer?"

MUDD: "Just liked all budgets, as long as I have been involved in business we negotiated the right number for the people that he could hire."

KUCINICH: "Is the answer yes or no, did you cut your credit risk officer's budget?"

Edward Pinto, Chief Credit Officer for Fannie Mae from 1987 to 1989 said the companies played more than a minor¹¹ role in the sub-prime lending crisis and collapse of the housing market.

"They loosened credit standards for mortgages, which encouraged and extended the housing bubble," said Edward Pinto. "They trapped millions of people into loans they knew were unsustainable. And they destroyed the equity¹² savings¹³ of tens of millions of homeowners spread through every congressional district in the United States."

Charles Calomiris, Professor of Financial Institutions at Columbia University Business School, says while the companies goal of promoting affordable¹⁴ housing was a motivating factor, executives took actions they knew were dangerous.

"They were experienced in this area, they knew the dangers of no docs lending [loans without sufficient proof of ability to pay] and they did it anyway," said Charles Calomiris.

Calomiris adds that both companies also acted in line with what he calls the political deal with the federal government that was well-understood in the marketplace.

Had they not relaxed their standards, which had a ripple¹⁵ effect through the market tripling risky lending, he says the sub-prime crisis might been half as severe as it has been.

1 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

10 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

11 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

12 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

13 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

14 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

15 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。