"The defense filings say that such loans were made in response to competitive pressures and evolving market conditions' I've had more than one loan officer tell me that they went to their dept chiefs and said, ".......what are we doing? What happened to our standards." The stock response was " well (pick one ) is doing it, so we have to too." One guy actually told me they would put a guy in a three story he couldn't afford, but actually would counsel people to rent out the basement, upstairs and attic, and it would make it affordable. I also got some records and traced them where they (BSC in one case, but New Century, Lehman, they were all there) would take a straw man who didn't even speak English, and put him in four or five toilets not worth 20 grand, and that would be land, yet mortgage each for 185 or 200...... You'll think, "I know that!", but to see it in tax records drives it home.