In article ,
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:

From what I'm hearing, Congress mandated they take a bunch of bad loans. And
some public action groups were protesting and making their lives miserable.
It's not a pretty picture.

Some of that, but a large part was just the rocket scientists
coming up with all these new products few (if any) understood but most
used. I have always thought that our financial system would benefit from
making two rules absolutely iron-clad. You couldn't sell a new
"derivative" or other financial instrument unless it could be explained
to, and understood by, a 10-year old in under 5 minutes and (2) anytime
someone touting a new instrument says it is so brilliant that it doesn't
follow the old rules, then the sale of that instrument should be
immediately banned.