I waited a few days after reading a CNNMoney.com article entitled "Bernanke outlines mortgage help plan-Fed chief says central bank "strongly committed to easing mortgage crisis," to see if it still struck me as being so odd that the Fed wanted to venture into the world of "mortgage underwriting."

While I'm happy to hear about the Fed's concern, the issues which need to be addressed seem to be outside the Fed's realm of responsibility. Just one man's opinion.

Doesn't the Fed have enough to do within the realm of their responsibilities?

Are Fed members qualified  mortgage underwriters?

I think not!

Let's check those resumes and see if they have taken any courses, or have any hands on experience. I'll bet we don't find any.

Here's the items mentioned;

Prohibiting lenders from issuing loans that the borrowers can't repay.

Okay, I'm all for that. That sounds good. It's the how part that is up for debate. In case they haven't noticed the guidelines have been tightened , possibly too much so. It seems that I've also read articles saying the guidelines are so restrictive, that good borrowers may no longer qualify for loans. So in essence, we've already done that.

Make lenders verify the income and assets of the borrower.

I wonder if Chairman Bernanke has ever analyized the tax returns of self employed borrowers attempting to qualify them for a mortgage by FNMA/FHLMC guidelines (full Doc). Probably not! The banks best customers might not get approved.

Require escrow accounts for higher priced loans.

I like this one. 

Ban repayment penalties including "loan flipping."

This is the articles explaination of this requirement: The Fed proposes to ban schemes in which lenders force borrowers to refinance at a higher rate, that they cannot afford.

I'm confused, I don't know what that explaination has to do with "loan flipping?"  Also, the marketplace has already sufficiently, in my opinion, tightened the guidelines where buyers will not qualify for refinances at payments they cannot afford.

We've already done that. Without the FED's help.

Let's make this clear. The Fed is NOT a legislative body, and by design the Fed is not suppose to be a political body. It seems to me that they are off track. 

So, the Fed needs to get back on track and work in areas of their expertise.

And,

Chairman Bernanke should seriously consider staying in his position as Fed Chairman, and not applying for any Underwriting positons, anytime soon!