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Washington Roundup

• SIFMA seeks details on muni B-D compliance exams
  SIFMA has filed a comment letter with the Securities and Exchange Commission asking for more information on the factors that will be considered when determining which municipal bond broker dealers will be subjected to more frequent compliance examinations. "The risk factors should be identified," said David Cohen, managing director and associate general counsel at SIFMA. "We don’t think it’s spelled out in the notice." The Bond Buyer (special access for readers of SIFMA SmartBrief)(11/28)
• Banks earned $13 billion from secret Fed loans, data show
  Banks worldwide gained an extra $13 billion in income because of secret, below-market loans from the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg Markets. "While Fed officials say that almost all of the loans were repaid and there have been no losses, details suggest taxpayers paid a price beyond dollars as the secret funding helped preserve a broken status quo and enabled the biggest banks to grow even bigger," the magazine reported. Bloomberg(11/27)
• Opinion: FHA's stance on its capital reserves is worrying
  The Federal Housing Administration has rejected concerns raised about its loan exposure and capital reserves. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has noted the agency's capital reserves, which are supposed to be at a minimum of 2%, are 0.24%. The FHA's comments are cause for concern, according to this Wall Street Journal opinion piece. The Wall Street Journal(11/28)