A group of state attorneys general on Monday called on the Obama administration to replace the regulator of housing-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as the White House gets closer to naming a new director to fill the post, Reuters reported yesterday. The group, nine attorneys general led by Martha Coakley of Massachusetts and Eric Schneiderman of New York, said that Edward DeMarco, who has been running the Federal Housing Finance Agency in an acting capacity since 2009, has not provided enough aid for troubled homeowners. In a letter to President Barack Obama and the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, the attorneys general criticized DeMarco's decision to block Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from reducing loan principal for borrowers who owe more than what their homes are worth, saying that it was an impediment to the U.S. economic recovery. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) was at the top of the list of potential replacements but that a final decision had not been made.
