September 18, 2011
This is to urge you not to change the regulations governing REITS such as American Capital Agency.
REITs own about $200Bn of agency MBS and their presence in the market as they are currently set up benefits a wide cross section of America, PARTICULARLY homeowners, MBS market participants, and seniors such as myself who are equity investors.
A dramatic reduction in REIT leverage would have an adverse impact on these groups and would be very disruptive to the market for MBS and create yet another burden on an already painfully slow housing recovery. This is not the time to be causing added problems for a limp housing market on which so much of our economy relies.