The subprime meltdown: who knew what when?

Today there is a frequent refrain that the subprime collapse came as a surprise. We contend that, on the contrary, many saw it coming. Starting in the 1990s, there were white papers by consumer organizations and articles in newspapers about abuses in the subprime market. Consumer advocates repeatedly testified before House and Senate committees, citing evidence that, for example, home foreclosures had tripled between 1982 and 1997, high-cost subprime loans accounted for 22 percent of all foreclosures in 1998, and many subprime loans were simply unaffordable.