Your comment that the Community Reinvestment Act created this crisis is wholly inaccurate. First, the Community Reinvestment Act required that banks stop redlining deserving potential homeowners. It did not require banks to loan money to those who did not qualify for the underwriting guidelines. President Clinton did expand the goal for home ownership in minority communities by requiring more aggressive lending. Again, aggressive lending was defined by expanding views of traditional credit as many in the under served mortgage communities did not have traditional lines of credit due to past discriminatory lending practices. Clinton did not demand that lending based on liar loans and exotic products that were never designed for the traditional wage/salary earner. The practices engaged in by the mortgage companies and banks since 2001 have been disastrous. The Bush Administration opened the flood gates for irresponsible lending, packaging those bad loans into securities and selling them on the wholesale market. This practice was widespread and spurred the fanatic rise on Wall Street. Professional financial executives knew that this day would come and did nothing to prevent it as they were making money hand over fist. Further, the folks at the SEC and at Justice during this time did NOTHING to stop the wild-eyed lending that was going on across the country. There is NO excuse for loaning a family of 5 with a $60,000 annual income 100% LTV on a $600,000 house. NONE. Further, the folks at AIG who came up with the credit derivatives based on the wholesale mortgage risk were reckless with AIG's name and asset base. Finally, I leave you with this thought, properties subject to loans pursuant to the Community Reinvestment Act perform well in comparison to other lending portfolios. These properties/borrowers have a very low rate/risk of default and people who own these homes did not use their homes like credit cards.
I can appreciate different poits of view, but, you should learn your facts before spewing your rhetoric. Good day.
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