There’s clear evidence that Wall Street’s gluttonous demand for loans and all the fat fees they spit out was the key factor that allowed, and encouraged, brokers to concoct increasingly risky mortgages with toxic bells and whistles such as adjustable interest rates that shot higher a few years—or in some cases a few months—after the loan was made. Out of twenty-five of the top subprime mortgage lenders, twenty-one were either owned or financed by major Wall Street or European banks, according to a report by the Center for Public Integrity. Without the demand from the investment banks, the bad
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