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            Finger pointing and charges of misconduct abound at The Senate Hearing for the subprime mortgage market. The committees chairman Senator Chris Dodd, Democrat – Connecticut, had some of the harshest words of the day; he defines the current situation as a “chronology of regulatory neglect,” he went on to say, “Our nations regulators were supposed to be the cops on the beat, protecting hard working Americans from unscrupulous financial actors. Yet they were spectators for far too long.” Four of the nations leading lenders in the subprime market sent Executives to speak at the hearing; they included HSBC, Countrywide, WMC, & First Franklin. The overall concern at this point expressed by financial market experts, is that the fallout from the subprime market will roll over into the broader economy. The executives all said they have tightened guidelines and eliminated many of their so called higher-risk programs and they urge congress not to rush in and overact. “We take the situation very seriously and we’re taking strong steps,” said Brendan McDonagh, chief executive HSBC. Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama, Democrat Illinois, had these words to say in a letter addressed to the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake; “We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes.” Roger Cole head of the Federal Reserve’s banking supervision division said “I will say that given what we know now, yes, we could have done more sooner,” Sen.-Dodd was able to get Cole to promise to develop a process which will allow for more regulation by the Fed in regards to mortgage lending standards. The current system relies heavily on both state and federal agencies, leaving room for a lot of lenders to be under regulated.