Do you think that gay dudes aren't checking out other dudes in the shower?
Uh, here's a news flash. Most people look better with their clothes on.
The non-CRA lenders were happy to take risky loans because- wait for it- They would get the deposit, they would get the interest payments, and after foreclosure, they could resell the house to the next sucker...er investor.
But that was the point, the non-CRA lenders weren't scrutinizing loans.
I bought a condo pre-crash. No money down VA loan. Very little checking into my finances, which weren't great at the time.
I bought a new condo in 2021. I was in much better shape, could do a downpayment, was carrying no debt on my credit cards, had a credit score north of 800. And despite that, they still gave me a fiscal colonoscopy before approving the loan. And this was with a bank I had been doing business with for 20 years at that point. It took 30 days to approve the loan, and the loan officer was amazed that it went that quickly.
The banks were reckless, because Bush told them they could be.