The “substantial losses” that the article refers to are only 15% of the actual loss that lenders would suffer if they weren’t allowed to dump their bad loans on the backs of the taxpayers.

Source, please.

I’m not a lender, but it seems that exchanging favors with a couple influential Senators in exchange for avoiding 85% of a guaranteed loss is a pretty sweet deal.

“A couple” Senators? You do realize that 51 have to vote for it, right? This isn’t an earmark, it’s a bill. One hell of conspiracy you’re alleging.

I’m not a lender, but it seems that exchanging favors with a couple influential Senators in exchange for avoiding 85% of a guaranteed loss is a pretty sweet deal.

And a close look at the fine print of the bill shows that lenders who want to use the program to refinance troubled loans into new, federally insured mortgages will have to take substantial losses. They will also have to make carefully calculated decisions about whether it makes more sense to foreclose and resell or auction a property or to help a struggling borrower refinance and remain in the home.

At the same time, homeowners seeking to use the program will have to prove that they have enough income and creditworthiness that they can afford to pay their new loans.

“The mortgages aren’t just being given out on willy-nilly random basis,” said Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts.

Borrowers will have to pay a hefty fees to further insulate taxpayers from losses. As a result, the biggest risk may be that because the program is complicated — and voluntary — few lenders or borrowers will make use of it.