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If not realizing that 95% of your consumer loans (not just 95% of mortgages) are sub-prime mortgages, and then keeping them on the books because of what amounts
by arakyd 17y ago
If not realizing that 95% of your consumer loans (not just 95% of mortgages) are sub-prime mortgages, and then keeping them on the books because of what amounts to a pure gamble on housing prices isn't turning a blind eye to risk, I don't know is.
The article points fingers in a lot of directions, but it does spend quite a bit of time on Cassano. Maybe you pick him out if you're going to pick out one guy at AIG, but this was clearly a case of everyone involved carefully ignoring things that might have upset the money flows.
In the end there are some winners, and a lot of people left holding the bill (mostly taxpayers). Coincidentally, the winners, by and large, happen to be the ones with the most political influence. See: http://fora.tv/2009/06/01/Michael_Lewis_The_End_of_Wall_Street#Michael_Lewis_Slams_Political_Influence_of_Wall_Street http://fora.tv/2009/06/01/Michael_Lewis_The_End_of_Wall_Stre...