History 101 - Or, Where It All Began

[Crafty Angler]

Originally Posted by detbuch

Is it true that before the Community Reinvestment Act was imposed on the lending institutions that they DID issue mortgage loans by "Lending 101" guidelines, i.e. 20% down and the ability to pay off the loan? And once the GOVERNMENT not only okayed, but to some extent mandated, that loans were to be issued to those that did not meet Lending 101 standards, it was THEN that the banks went with the new flow?

While I'm not familiar with the CRA, I would guess the intent was to keep banks from red-lining certain neighborhoods.

I'll also have to admit that predatory borrowing as a root cause has really never crossed my mind...

The subpoenas for that Senate investigation will probably have to be delivered to the van down by the river that those folks are living in now -

And I don't think the Nuremburg defense - that the banks were only following the orders of their government - really applies here either as a justification for their lending behaviors.