The Second S&L Scandal - Center for Responsible Lending

Boy did we let greed get us into a pickle:

The Second S&L Scandal - Center for Responsible Lending:
"How OTS allowed reckless and unfair lending to fleece homeowners and cripple the nation's savings and loan industry.

Although the Office of Thrift Supervision was created as a result of the first savings & loan crisis, history repeated itself as the OTS ignored bad lending practices and allowed thrifts to self-destruct.

* OTS permitted WaMu, IndyMac and other thrifts to engage in increasingly risky lending practices that harmed borrowers, undermined the institutions' own financial health, and ran up enormous costs that have landed in the taxpayer's lap.
* OTS was slow to act as the financial health of the banks it oversaw deteriorated. It failed to take action that would have significantly reduced the economic fallout from these bank failures.
* The agency hid from investors and the public the seriousness of thrifts' financial problems. In some instances, the OTS allowed banks to falsify financial results to mask poor results that would have raised alarms sooner."