Quote:
Originally Posted by secondcurve
While the Banks were partially to blame for the real estate mess we are in (politicians and homeowners are the other two major contributors) they have taken about 95% of the blame for the problem since the American public and arrogant politicians refuse to admit their culpability.
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Don't forget the Wall Street investment banks that bought, repackaged and sold crappy loans as if they were safe investments; the rating agencies that certified that these crappy loans were safe investmensts; the insurance companies (AIG, anyone?) that created credit default swaps so that the investment banks could protect themselves in the event that these loans that they knew were crappy went south; the mortgage companies that made up and marketed ever more risky loans (interest only, no money down, no doc); the speculators (
not homeowners) who flipped homes at an increasingly frantic pace in order to make a quick buck; and the government regulators who were too stupid or lazy (or both) to figure out what was going on.