By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 25/07/2026When financier transmuted these high-risk 30-year mortgages into complex derivatives, they were effectively promising their customers a piece of that risk premium for 28 out of the 30 years that the mortgage ran for. 16/ 1242
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 25/07/2026But it wasn't all financial engineering: subprime mortgage salesmen could also promise customers that they wouldn't lose everything even after a wave of borrower bankruptcies and defaults. That's because mortgages are *secured*: they are backed by deeds for the homes the borrowers own(ed). 17/ 1262
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 25/07/2026If a borrower goes bust, the lender can repossess their house or apartment and sell it to recover the loan amount. Now, the finance sector *did* repossess a fuckton of houses after the crash. Foreclosure and eviction became official policy. 18/ 1252
