SS, back in the 50's and 60's many banks did not even have what we would call appraisals today. But, then again most of them loaned their own money and held onto their loans for the life of the loan. My dad worked for a bank from the 1940's until his retirement in the 1990's. In the 50's and 60's he was on the "loan committee" that would determine whether to make the loan or not. A couple times a month, several of the committee members would hop in a car and drive-by the properties in question. One of the main things they would look at is how the homeowner/borrower would maintain their home, figuring if they kept their house in order, then their bill paying would be in order also. Even on purchases, they would drive by the potential borrowers old home to see how it was maintaned. There were no written reports, but sometimes they would scribble a few notes on an index card. And their default rates were minimal.
Think about it, even today, whenever one receives an appraisal order from one of those bottom feeding lenders, how often do those homes appear "orderly"
It seems the more deferred maintenance, disorder, etc., the more they need to squeeze every penny out of the value.
The reason for this story, when lenders are loaning their own money, they have a right to do whatever they and their stock holders see fit. They can keep it all behind an iron curtain if they wish.
But when public funds are involved, when taxpayers are asked to bail them out whenever there is a problem and the government puts guarantees on their loans, that right to total privacy no longer applies. When trillions of dollars are involved, the more transparency to the entire process the better. Probable Cause? How about total losses of 1 trillion or more, with government bailouts picking up the check. The entire lending process could use a rectal exam, and one of the fixes for the future is to have total transparency of what is taking place.
One side on this thread is stating they have all kinds of evidence, but for legal reasons can not share it. The other side is saying it is all made up rumors. Without the needed transparency we can debate and call each other names and question each others credibility until the cows come home. I say the only answer is to set up the system with proper transparency so all the facts are known, not just after the fact, but in real time.
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