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NC Banking Official to Oversee Mortgage Settlement

Economists and politicians say the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks is perfect for the job of overseeing the new national mortgage settlement, but they say it won’t be easy.

Leoneda Inge:  Joseph Smith has served as the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks since 2002.  About a year ago, The Obama Administration recognized his work with foreclosure prevention counseling and nominated him to run the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.   Smith withdrew his name after resistance from Senate Republicans.  Now he’s stepping forward again.  John Connaughton is a professor of Financial Economics at UNC Charlotte.  Connaughton says he wouldn’t want Smith’s new job.

John Connaughton:  Whenever we have a settlement like this, okay, nobody ever gets what they want.   It is always a series of compromises.  And as a result of that, he is going to be dealing with parties on both sides of the issue that feel they have been unfairly treated.

 Smith will serve as independent monitor of the 25-billion dollar mortgage settlement from an office in Raleigh.

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.
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