It's one of the biggest misconceptions about the housing crisis: the belief that the government's policies to promote affordable housing -- particularly through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- fanned the flames of the subprime mortgage market, ultimately bringing down the entire economy.
In fact, a growing body of independent research confirms that it wasn't the affordable housing mandate that led to the proliferation of risky mortgages. And the most recent evidence comes from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. |