<The gov't didn't tell appraisers to fudge their appraisals; no gov't official told banks to come up with their crazy mortgage instruments>
Not exactly true.
The whole mortgage mess was a Ponzi scheme.
Such schemes work only when there is a patsy.
The lenders knew they could skim fees and points and flip mortgages to Fannie Mae.
They had to because they knew the loans were toxic.
The more sophisticated and bold could even bet against these mortgage pools.
Fannie on its part, agreed to be the bagholder because bonus payments to officers
depended on volume. When the scheme unfolded, the taxpayer footed the entire bill.
The liars who took out liar loans were only pawns in a bigger game.
It was all about volume, leverage, credit, and a government no lose guarantee.
wg |
