Call of duty

Government-sponsored Enterprises

Liquidity has been the focus of regulatory attention on both sides of the Atlantic over the past nine months. The Federal Reserve, Bank of England and European Central Bank have sought on several occasions to reinvigorate interbank lending by injecting liquidity into the money markets, with varying levels of success.

Not surprisingly, the US mortgage market - the sector that spawned the credit funk now crippling the financial industry - has been particularly hard hit. Would-be homeowners with pa