Banks Barred from Real Estate
INDUSTRY NEWS, REAL ESTATE LEGISLATION, REAL ESTATE PRACTICE
March 24th, 2009
When President Obama signed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill into law last week, he permanently banned national banks and other financial institutions from engaging in the practice of selling real estate. The bill prevents the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve from creating rules that would allow such activities. The banks have been pushing to enter the real estate business ever since former President Bush took office more than eight years ago.
The Bush administration sought to expand the authority of national banks to engage in real estate development and other real estate related practices, including sales. Had the Bush administration been successful, bank employees could engage in the same real estate practices that states require a real estate license for.
The current banking fiasco should be proof enough that banks should not be dabbling in real estate sales and development. Banks have failed to oversee their own activities which were rife with fraud and corruption. Underwriters looked the other way in order to get those toxic mortgages out into the marketplace. Wall Street aided the banks by providing seemingly endless streams of capital to fund these risky loans. Greed went unchecked.
The news of AIG awarding hundreds of millions in bonuses to retain employees that brought the world financial markets to their knees is ample proof these industries should be kept separate. Realtors have fought and won this long battle. Hallelujah!
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REALTOR/BROKER ASSOCIATE
REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS GMAC
QUARTER CENTURY LOCAL REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE
