OUR FRIENDS, THE BANKERS

Right now, that's kind if like saying "Our friends, the maggots, thieves and parasites." According to Business Week's article "How Banks Are Worsening the Foreclosure Crisis," the banker section of the MOTU refused to take any meaningful steps to minimize the sub-prime fiasco and some even refused to acknowledge that there was a problem. Today, they are still at it:

One reason foreclosures are so rampant is that banks and their advocates in Washington have delayed, diluted, and obstructed attempts to address the problem. Industry lobbyists are still at it today, working overtime to whittle down legislation backed by President Obama that would give bankruptcy courts the authority to shrink mortgage debt.

It's not just "communists" who are pointing out that the bankers have failed us:

...the industry's contention that it has done as much as possible to limit foreclosures seems hollow. Some statistics it cites appear to be exaggerated. Even pro-industry figures such as Steven C. Preston, a Republican businessman who headed the Housing & Urban Development Dept. late in the Bush Administration, concede that many lenders have dragged their heels. "The industry still has not stepped up to the volume of the problem," Preston says. One program, Hope for Homeowners—which Bush officials and banks promised last fall would shield 400,000 families from foreclosure—has so far produced only 25 refinanced loans.
[snip]
"People are falling through the cracks," Preston says. "That's bad for communities, bad for the individuals losing their homes, and bad for investors."

Sen. Dodd, one of the villains in the wingnut version of this mess, tried to do something in early 2007 but he knew he didn't have enough GOP votes, so he called a conference of the banking MOTU. The result was predictable:

A who's who of banking executives gathered on Apr. 18, 2007...Some from the industry denied a foreclosure problem existed, including Sandor E. Samuels, at the time chief legal officer of subprime giant Countrywide Financial. They vowed to continue selling loans with enticing introductory rates as well as those requiring minimal evidence of borrowers' income. "We are going to keep making these loans until the last second they are legal," Samuels later told a fellow participant.

How did one program that the GOP liked help? You already know the answer:

One program, Hope for Homeowners—which Bush officials and banks promised last fall would shield 400,000 families from foreclosure—has so far produced only 25 refinanced loans.