Funny, George W. Bush wasn't even president yet, and the New York Times saw the dangers of the Clinton administration's expansion of Fannie Mae to lend to people with poor credit. Funny that the Times apparently forgot about their own prophetic reporting as our credit system crashed and burned. Do you suppose that they saw a conflict of interest between the truth and getting their preferred candidate elected? And now Barney Frank and Chris Dodd are at the center of fixing the mess.
From the New York Times, September 30, 1999:
"In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders."
"Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been
under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits."
"In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn,
prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's."
Oh, if it was only that small!
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260
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Topic: New York Times predicted credit crisis in 1999 (Read 232 times)