This is part four of a four-part series of blog articles about the subprime mortgage problems. In part one I sketched the rise and fall of subprime loan products and their relation to predatory lending practices within a capitalist system. In part two, I examined the structural relationship between a professional and his or her client. In part three, I offered a business ethics case study comparing the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster to the subprime mortgage market collapse. In today’s part four, I assert three logical solutions to the current crisis in lending.

[photopress:gift_1.jpg,thumb,alignleft]The subprime crisis is a gift.  Mortgage lending can emerge from the subprime mess and transform itself. I have been co-writing about predatory lending and the ambiguous professional status of retail mortgage salespeople for over 5 years. The industry has traded consumer respect for massive profits.  It does not matter where you work: banker, broker, credit union, consumer finance company. It does not matter what you call yourselves: Loan officer, loan originator, loan consultant, mortgage planner.  Consumers do not understand the subtle and obvious differences.  They DO know “lender