Enough about Marian Walsh, let's talk about Quasi-Public Conduits

The Patrick Administration’s publicly stated (still!) strategy for placing Senator Walsh in the Assistant Director’s position at HEFA is to facilitate the merger of HEFA and MassDevelopment. As part of their business, each of these entities serves as a conduit for non-profits to issue debt. The Administration believes that the overlap between these two entities is bad, as it drives down fees to the non-profits, limiting the amount of money these entities collect.

Paul Levy, among others, points out that having a competitive environment allows non-profits to access financing at lower rates. Which is a good thing, I think.

I would also note that if overlap is an issue, MassDevelopment and MassHousing have competed with each other for a much larger book of business over the years. Is addressing this overlap also part of the strategy?

If this is a legit strategy, it should be. If its not, then this is just a power grab.