Lenders adamantly oppose a new agency, in part because their dodgiest offerings — like subprime mortgages of yesteryear or short-term “payday loans” — are often their most profitable.

The New York Times and the other media continually recite this canard that payday loans are very profitable.  As we’ve said before, the filings of the public companies demonstrate that the industry makes average returns.

The Center is headed by liberal crusader Martin Eakes. In 2008 Politico referred to Eakes as the “main intellectual engine driving Democratic responses to the housing crisis.”

The Center’s primary benefactors over the years have been the subprime mortgage speculators Herb and Marion Sandler who have given the nonprofit at least $20 million.

Unlike higher profile high-dollar liberal donors such as George Soros and insurance tycoon Peter B. Lewis (his company is called Progressive for a reason), the Sandlers have received very little media attention. They shelled out $13 million to left-wing groups in a failed effort to prevent President Bush’s reelection in 2004. This made them the third most generous donors in 2004 behind Soros ($27 million) and Lewis ($23 million).

The Sandlers have also given sizeable chunks of cash to the highly influential Center for American Progress, the liberal “action” tank run by Obama transition co-chief John Podesta. Incidentally, Podesta’s outfit recently put disgraced former green jobs czar Van Jones on the payroll. Jones is the self-described revolutionary communist forced from office last year when it was discovered that he was a 9/11 truther:

Failings by Lehman Brothers executives and its auditor led to the bank collapse that unleashed the worst of the financial crisis, according to a report by court-appointed investigator.

Lehman “repeatedly exceeded its own internal risk limits and controls,” and a wide range of bad calls by its management led to the bank’s failure, the report says.

The conduct of Lehman executives “ranged from serious but non-culpable errors of business judgment to actionable balance sheet manipulation,” examiner Anton Valukas wrote in the report.

The specter of health care has invaded Senate efforts to pass financial reform legislation, threatening to poison another Obama administration priority.

Republicans blamed health care reform for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s decision to unveil his own bill Monday without Republican backing. They said Dodd is doing so only to clear the decks for ramming through health care reform with reconciliation, which could chew up weeks of Senate time.

The person I have in mind is Elizabeth Warren. She chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel, which monitors the TARP bailout. But perhaps more important is her unofficial title: mother of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Reporting from Washington – With time running out this year for the Senate to deal with financial regulatory reform legislation, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Thursday he plans to offer his own bill after lengthy bipartisan talks failed to produce a consensus.

Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, has been working since mid-February with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) in hopes of crafting a bill to enact the most sweeping overhaul of financial regulations since the Great Depression. But while those talks have been fruitful, Dodd said Thursday “a few outstanding issues remain” and time is running out for the Senate to deal with a complex bill this year with midterm elections looming.

“It has always been my goal to produce a consensus package,” said Dodd, who has been engaged in on-again, off-again talks with Republicans since unveiling his own bill last fall. “And we have reached a point where bringing the bill to the full committee is the best course of action to achieve that end.”

Dodd said he will unveil his latest draft of the legislation Monday and wants his committee to begin considering a bill the week of March 22. But with Republicans holding enough seats to block any legislation, the failure to produce a bipartisan bill spells trouble for Democrats hoping to push through a regulatory overhaul that is one of President Obama’s top priorities.

POLITICO Breaking News:
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Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd, concerned that bipartisan talks were losing momentum, will unveil his own financial reform bill Monday without the full support of his Republican negotiating partners. Dodd stressed in a statement that his talks with Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee would continue.

For more information…http://www.politico.com