LET'S PUT THE FINANCIAL CRISIS BLAME WHERE IT BELONGS-GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE FREE MARKETS AND FORCED LOANS TO MARGINAL CREDIT PEOPLE

As a banker for almost 30 years, I have seen the rise of government intervention in the lending arena, especially through the CRE (COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT), supported and enforced with "thug like" mandates over the years.

The government forced our bank and others to make loans to marginal credit people, people that did not qualify to get a mortgage, and to people who put no money down with marginal income and credit. We sold these loans as fast as we could since they were a problem from the start, and guess who owned them?

If the regulators were alerted by various community organizations that applicants were getting rejected, the government thugs would show up and write a report describing our institution as non compliant with the CRE.

Then when we wanted another branch to be approved, they would not allow it due to our "non-compliance" with the provisions of the CRE.

As a private owned bank we have a responsibility to our stockholders to keep their investment safe, we have a responsibility to our depositors to invest their funds in a safe and prudent manner to protect those deposits. Yet, the CRE would force us to lend to people who would never qualify for a mortgage loan.

Then as there were defaults, we bankers are somehow to blame?

The entire crisis was precipitated by the forced regulations that forced financial institutions to make marginal loans, sold to or guaranteed by the various federal agencies who were then on the hook for defaults.

So let's not blame the banks...we all know how hard they can be to give a loan...yet the CRE was their LAW that forced them to do it, forced them to make bad loans.

Put the blame where it belongs...