Who is to blame for the subprime mortgage mess?

Is it the lenders? Or did the Bush administration policies create an atmosphere favorable for risky lending and predatory loan practices? Or is it something else? Links, of course, are appreciated.Who is to blame for the subprime mortgage mess?
It is the borrowers. They bought houses that they couldn't afford, and when they went up in value, they took that money out so that they NEVER had any equity in the place. When the value of their house decreased and they couldn't take any free money out, they decided to walk away.





';Buying'; a house for $0 down is called RENTING. So if someone put $0 down, took $50K OUT of the house then the price went up, and now they lose their house because the payments went up too high, how are they worse off?Who is to blame for the subprime mortgage mess?
The banks are to blame. They aggressively targeted borrowers who they knew would be at a high risk defaulting. The banks knew that as long as the security was there, the risk was worth taking. Mortgage brokers working on the banks behalf are also to blame, they want to make as much commission as possible, and didn't care if the borrower had no means to repay the debt.





The problem is that with the downturn in the housing market, banks could not quickly sell foreclosed homes. This has led to the current problem.
I would say in this order:





1)The people who choose to take out mortagages they could not afford, especially with an adjustable rate.





2)The people who choose to take out risky HELOC to pay off credit card debts.