Royal Bank of Scotland is eliminating 3,500 investment bank jobs and will sell or shut the bank’s equities and advisory business under a 3-year plan to further reduce risk. RBS said the bank will focus more on domestic retail and corporate banking. RBS, 83 percent owned by the UK government, on Thursday said it will exit from cash equities, corporate broking, equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions businesses.

In the United States Fannie Mae Chief Executive Michael Williams said he was stepping down from the government-controlled mortgage firm, as Fannie Mae tries to find a way to reduce foreclosures.

Apparently he is not the only one in that position. Freddie Mac CEO Charles Haldeman announced plans to step down in October.

Many Americans think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are on the skids. Think again. The Federal Reserve last week recommended expanding their role to help combat foreclosures and revive the terrible housing market. Obviously these two are too big to fail and cannot be overlooked. Having said that, there are aspects that everyone would like to forget.