Unscrupulous lenders who deceptively sold a subprime mortgages to millions of Americans should be fined and the proceeds used to help bail out borrowers facing a wave of foreclosures, according to Barack Obama, the Democratic senator running to be his party’s presidential candidate.
The proposal is among the most radical yet from a leading Democrat and comes as Washington tries to respond to a growing wave of foreclosures and a crisis in credit markets.
It also comes amid greater discussion in Washington on whether the mortgage industry – including credit rating agencies involved in rating mortgage-related securities – should be more tightly regulated to prevent a repeat of the crisis.
Writing in today’s Financial Times, Mr Obama blamed lobbyists working on behalf of lenders for obstructing tougher regulation of the subprime industry, adding: “Our government failed to provide the regulatory scrutiny that could have prevented this crisis.
Full Story Click Here
