Senate Panel to Quiz Officials on Takeover

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing Sept. 16 to quiz Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart about their decision to seize control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to the committee, Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., will ask about the eventual cost of the takeover, whether the move will stabilize financial markets, and what it means for mortgage affordability. Fannie's and Freddie's regulator, the newly created FHFA, working with the Treasury, placed the two government-sponsored enterprises under a government conservatorship on Sept. 7. About a month before the takeover, Mr. Lockhart said the two GSEs had enough capital to weather the housing crisis. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., plans on holding a related hearing, but has yet to set a date.