Ten years ago, non-profit organizations the Greenlining Institute and Operation HOPE convened fifteen major banks—including Countrywide Financial and World Savings Bank—to urge restraints on irresponsible adjustable-rate mortgages and interest-only loans. Three months later, we met with former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to discuss the issue. Greenspan argued that ARMs were the best way to save money for homeowners—although he admitted that he personally preferred the comfort and predictability of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
Today, many major financial institutions no longer exist as a result of their dangerous alternatives to 30-year fixed rates.
via How to Thwart Another Predatory Housing Crisis – Bank Think Article – American Banker.
