Conservative?

[Xavier_Onassis]

They're peddled on the bond market, not the stock market.

And many securities are handled in just this way. Do you propose to eliminate the bond market (which is three times the size of the stock markets)?

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It was not previously the case where home mortgages were bundled and sold as if they were bonds. Banks used to own the mortgages and collect the payments on them for 30 years. It would not be all that difficult to prohibit the sale of bundled home mortgages.

They were sold from bank to bank as safe secured securities. They were only renamed 'sub prime mortgages' when this whole mess started to head south.

Variable rate mortgages, mortgages with huge baloon payments and somesuch crap  are not necessary, either.

[Xavier_Onassis]

And, so taxpayers should bail thme out?

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There is no proposal that taxpayers will bail them out.

The proposal is that variable rate mortgages that were supposed to change their rates upwards would be postponed voluntarily from doing thie tro prevent bankruptcies and a collapse of the mortgage and real estate markets.

We are only bailing the Iraqis out for messing up their country with dictatorships and religious disputes.

[Amianthus]

It was not previously the case where home mortgages were bundled and sold as if they were bonds. Banks used to own the mortgages and collect the payments on them for 30 years. It would not be all that difficult to prohibit the sale of bundled home mortgages.

Been that way for many, many years now. Don't you remember the old "Fannie Mae" ads? What do you think Fannie Mae does? And besides, if you go back as far as you're proposing, mortgages were only 4 year instruments. The 30 year mortgage did not come around until banks started bundling and selling mortgages.

They were sold from bank to bank as safe secured securities. They were only renamed 'sub prime mortgages' when this whole mess started to head south.

So, now you're saying that bank officers are way too stupid to know what sub-prime mortgages are? I suggest that you know less about the mortgage business than bankers who specialize in mortgages do...

Variable rate mortgages, mortgages with huge baloon payments and somesuch crap  are not necessary, either.

They are useful in certain circumstances. I've used both to my advantage.

[Amianthus]

The proposal is that variable rate mortgages that were supposed to change their rates upwards would be postponed voluntarily from doing thie tro prevent bankruptcies and a collapse of the mortgage and real estate markets.

This is a step that most banks were doing on their own anyway. The ones who weren't are the ones in really bad shape.