https://RationalAmerica.com/tags/lending-standards/Recent content in Lending Standards on Rational AmericaHugoen-usFri, 04 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0400https://RationalAmerica.com/posts/what-bankers-wont-tell-you-about-lending-standard/Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0400https://RationalAmerica.com/posts/what-bankers-wont-tell-you-about-lending-standard/<h1 id="what-bankers-wont-tell-you-about-lending-standards-and-why-reforms-keep-falling-short">What Bankers Won’t Tell You About Lending Standards (and Why Reforms Keep Falling Short)</h1> <p>In the summer of 2007, a mortgage underwriter in suburban Phoenix sat staring at a file that was, for all practical purposes, empty. No pay stubs. No W-2s. Just a credit score of 620, a stated income of $14,000 a month, and a supervisor hovering nearby, gently reminding her about the quarterly volume bonus. She approved it. So did thousands of others, all over the country, until the whole machine seized up and took the global economy with it.</p>