The Second S&L Scandal
How OTS allowed reckless and unfair lending to fleece homeowners and cripple the nation's savings and loan industry. Although the Office of Thrift Supervision was created as a result of the first savings & loan crisis, history repeated itself as the OTS ignored bad lending practices and allowed thrifts to self-destruct. OTS permitted WaMu, IndyMac and other thrifts to engage in increasingly risky lending practices that harmed borrowers, undermined the institutions' own financial health, and ran up enormous costs that have landed in the taxpayer's lap. OTS was slow to act as the financial...