Quite, quite remarkable.
It has a system of standardised or ‘conforming’ mortgages that properly certify an individual’s income and employment history and which can thus be guaranteed or insured by giant, government-sponsored agencies such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration in the event of default. Eighty per cent of new mortgages in the first six months of this year were guaranteed conforming mortgages. Britain has nothing.
He’s still praising FM/FM, when it’s now clear that they did as much as anyone else to drive the unsustainable boom.
2 responses so far ↓
1 AntiCitizenOne // Jul 27, 2008 at 1:12 pm
No, the cause was Alan Greenspan removing reserve requirements.
2 dearieme // Jul 27, 2008 at 7:55 pm
He’s always had the look of the “not all there” about him.
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