Some folks saw it coming. And they said so.

But the government and Wall Street refused to listen.

On Sept. 30, 1999, The New York Times published an article by Steven A. Holmes on Fannie Mae’s move to ease credit requirements for mortgages in an effort to help more low-income Americans afford to buy homes.

Before that time, Fannie Mae, as well as fellow government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac, had a long history of helping Americans get into a home of their own, but they did so with a prudent eye. There were minimum standards in place to ensure that the ...

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