> But then you have to ask if the institutions doing the application verifications were criminally negligent.

That wasn't negligent. It was intentional.

Not by the institution, but by the officers acting against the interests of the institution.

A tiny example out of so many: it is against the interest of a secured lender to inflate appraised value or allow them to be inflated.

Yet, starting at 2004, appraisers across the country started reporting that they were being pressured to inflate appraisals and blacklisted when they refused.

This is clear indication of fraud against the institution and regulators. There is simply no honest reason to inflate appraisals.