February 23, 2009
Who caused the mortgage crisis?
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/02/who_caused_the_mortgage_crisis.html
A reader reminds us of this remarkable article from the New York Times in 1999 (before Bush 43 took office), headlined, "Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending." Some excerpts (emphases mine):
...Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits. ...
... at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market. ...
Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.
There's much more. Read the whole thing.
Hat tip: Richard Baehr
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