The Ethical Practices of Subprime Loans

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Subprime Loans In the world of business it is understood that a business exist to generate a profit. These profits are generated through supplying a product or service that is of value to the consumer. If the goal of business is to generate profit then what role does ethics and moralities have in the business world? The problem investigated in this study is the dilemma between generating highest profits by any means or generating profits only through the means of ethical business practice. A look at the mortgage business can provide an example of this ethical dilemma. Mortgages generate large revenues for mortgage brokers and banks. This service is desired by many consumers. It is the American Dream to own a home, and American Dreamers, rich and poor, with good credit and bad credit, seek to secure a mortgage to fulfill their dream of home ownership. Bankers learned that giving people with poor credit access to the same or similar amenities of those who are financially stable with good credit could prove to be profitable (Jennings 2012). Bankers and investors found that greater profits could be earned by charging more to those with poor credit who were less stable. Because home ownership is such a significant part of fulfillment of the American Dream, those who are less financially stable with poor credit are willing to pay more to live the American Dream. What is the product of this demand for greater risk lenders, the subprime loan. Companies such as Goldman Sach and Meryl Lynch acquired large amounts of equity to fund small amounts of assets (Lewis, Kay, Kelso. C, & Larson J, 2010). According to Jennings, a subprime loan is the disbursement of loaned funds to people who have a FICO score below 570 (poor credit) (Jennings 2012). By lending to people with poor credit scores, companies were able to partake in equity stripping, flipping and ballooning
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