Fannie and Freddie Were ‘Helpless Victims’ of the Big Banks? Really!?!
The news broke Friday, but JPMorgan’s $5.1 billion payment to settle charges it misled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the housing boom was perfectly made for Saturday Night Live.
Specifically, the “Really!?!” segments Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler made famous on Weekend Update.
As in:
Really!?! Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were helpless victims of the big banks? Really!?!
Fannie and Freddie were the BIGGEST BUYERS of subprime mortgages during the boom. Really!
Even the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission called Fannie and Freddie “the kings of leverage.” Really!
Saying Fannie and Freddie were victims of the big bad banks is like saying Paris Hilton dressed up like Miley Cyrus for the Playboy Halloween party because she’s protesting a world where young women use wild antics to get attention. Really!
Related: Best Burgers: Are You Ready America?
Lauren Lyster and I pay homage to the SNL skit in the accompanying video and ask a (serious) and related question:
So Angelo Mozilo is free to get all the fake tans he wants but Rebecca Mairone – a mid-level Countrywide executive nobody outside of the industry ever heard of - was found liable for pushing dubious mortgages? Really!?!
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. We really want to know!
Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker and Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter at @aarontask or email him at [email protected]
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