Fannie and Freddie continued buying low-down-payment mortgages aggressively into 2007—23% of their home-purchase loans by number that year were low-down-payment—because, politically cornered after the 2003 accounting scandal and growing opposition (including from every Treasury Department across administrations and Alan Greenspan), they bought a political 'insurance policy' by pleasing affordable-housing advocates like Barney Frank.
causalpending
Speaker
Charles CalomirisEvidence Quote
“I hate to say it but that's how simple it is in my view but I don't want to overdo that”
Created: 6/15/2026, 9:20:15 AM
My Notes
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