dizzier wrote:
wouldn't it be in their favor to lock in or extend the current rate rather then let it default and have to deal with foreclosure?
It just seems to me that this all could have been avoided by just helping people.
You are absolutely correct. However, lenders often exhibit hubris when it comes to defaults. They seem to believe they'll appear weak and soft and more "unscrupulous borrowers" will pile on and take advantage of them if they don't hold firm. And we all know there's no such thing as a predatory lender. Borrowers are definitely the little guys who need protection. Yeah, right.
In the video Maxed Out, there's a guy who used to work in banking. I believe he's the one in Ohio who's mother-in-law took her own life over debt. He commented how the banking industry has changed in recent years. Long gone are the days of George Bailey and the Bailey Building and Loan--assuming they ever existing. Banks aren't looking to hire people who understand finance, money, fiscal restraint, responsible borrowing, et al. They want people who have sales experience, and they want you to sell, sell, sell, sell, sell. If you have sales experience, in any field, banks probably wanna talk to you. If you have management experience in sales, then banks probably wanna hire you to run a branch.
Almost every time I walk into the branch, I get a sales pitch. Me personally, being so warped, I get a kick outta it. And it's fun to have hot girls borderline hitting on me. The sales pitches almost reach that point. For the same reason I have fun at telemarketers expense. If it weren't for my wife complaining to me about telemarketers, I'd take our phone number OUT of the donotcall.gov list for my own perverse pleasure when they call.
DW and I got a monitored security system. Salesman was talking about how he'd worked in banking for a while, but he said upper management pressured everyone to sell regardless of whether it made fiscal sense or not. He said that's why he got out of that racket.
