Subprime tumble just beginning

Federal Reserve Gov. Susan Bies didn't tell us anything in a speech today that we didn't already know - that there will be more missed payments and foreclosures as the subprime disaster starts to unfold - but somehow coming out of the mouth of a Feddie, it has a little more impact. Regulators are getting nervous about "payment shock," which is hitting those subprime borrowers after their teaser rates end and they're stuck shelling out some real money (what on earth were these people thinking when they first took out the loan - that Larry Ellison or Ron Burkle would come to their rescue?). Bies and other Fed governors yesterday attended a meeting of the Fed's Consumer Advisory Council in Washington where they were warned that rising mortgage foreclosures are likely to get worse. By the way, RBS Capital's Alec Crawford says the third quarter should see the peak in resets for adjustable-rate mortgages. "While some homeowners will obviously be able to refinance or restructure their loans, others will not and could default, creating a stress on the housing market," he wrote in a comment posted by MarketBeat. "It will still take a while for delinquencies and foreclosures to increase, as this process is slow and opaque."