For many years it has been our opinion that predatory lending became the acceptable norm, followed by a period of aggressive Wall Street greed. When predatory became subprime, and with regulators totally asleep, these 25 institutions effected the entire world economy:

Countrywide Financial Corp.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $97.2 billion

Ameriquest Mortgage Co./ACC Capital Holdings Corp.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $80.6 billion

New Century Financial Corp.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $75.9 billion

First Franklin Corp./National City Corp./Merrill Lynch & Co.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $68 billion

Long Beach Mortgage Co./Washington Mutual
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $65.2 billion

Option One Mortgage Corp./H&R Block Inc.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $64.7 billion

Fremont Investment & Loan/Fremont General Corp.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $61.7 billion

Wells Fargo Financial/Wells Fargo & Co.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $51.8 billion

HSBC Finance Corp./HSBC Holdings plc
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $50.3 billion ***

WMC Mortgage Corp./General Electric Co.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $49.6 billion

BNC Mortgage Inc./Lehman Brothers
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $47.6 billion ***

Chase Home Finance/JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $30 billion

Accredited Home Lenders Inc./Lone Star Funds V
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $29.0 billion

IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $26.4 billion

CitiFinancial / Citigroup Inc.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $26.3 billion

EquiFirst Corp./Regions Financial Corp./Barclays Bank plc
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $24.4 billion

Encore Credit Corp./ ECC Capital Corp./Bear Stearns Cos. Inc.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $22.3 billion

American General Finance Inc./American International Group Inc. (AIG)
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $21.8 billion ***

Wachovia Corp.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $17.6 billion.

GMAC LLC/Cerberus Capital Management
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $17.2 billion ***

NovaStar Financial Inc.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $16 billion

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $15.3 billion

GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Inc./Capital One Financial Corp.
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $13.1 billion

ResMAE Mortgage Corp./Citadel Investment Group
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $13 billion

Aegis Mortgage Corp./Cerberus Capital Management
Amount of Subprime Loans: At least $11.5 billion

Reference: The Center For Public Integrity