Mr. Speaker, despite the opposition commentary today, the U.S. financial and mortgage crisis was caused by massive government intervention in the mortgage and banking business. According to a 2010 World Bank report on the U.S. financial crisis, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, both government-sponsored enterprises, bought an estimated 47% of the toxic mortgages that ultimately led to the collapse between 1980 and 2007, and backed debt that went from $200 million to $4 trillion. If I could quote that World Bank report, it states:
In the mid-1990s, the government changed the way the Community Reinvestment Act was enforced and effectively compelled banks to initiate risky mortgages.
So it is important for us to remember when we are debating banking regulation that it was massive government intervention that led to the problems that occurred in the U.S. system.