Mark & Juanita wrote in
:

The core of the crisis was Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for setting
the loan
standards so low that those swap agreements and hybrid instruments
contained loans to people with no chance of paying them back. This
was done at the direction of Congress who demanded an end to
"redlining" and the availability of "affordable mortgages" to more
people. At its height, it was possible for people to walk in and get
a loan with no down payment and not even have proof of employment.

The real core of the problem is not the direction of Congress so much as
the implementation. Isn't it the fiduciary duty of banks etc to protect
their depositors' and stockholders' "investments? Then they (the banks and
investment firms) should have NOT invested in dubious loans and Ponzi
schemes of insurance thereon. The fault of Congress is only in not
insuring that there was proper oversight and regulation of the Ponzi
schemes and 120% of value mortgages.

Don't blame attempts to increase home ownership and responsibility for
irresponsible acts by greedy banks, investment and insurance firms, as well
as corrupt ratings agencies. (Not saying that F&F are blameless).

--
Best regards
Han
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