Link for the above post. I didn't realize that the charts were not identified. Take a look at the link to see which is which.
It seems as though subprime is less the issue than credit score. Additionally the ARM's became more attractive as people were becoming more transient and housing values were increasing so rapidly. I think those factors combined created somewhat of a "perfect storm" in the industry.
To say that none of these banks were forced/coerced/encouraged to lend to more people seems unbelievable to me. This reeks of a wink-wink nudge-nudge deal. As long as the property values increased everyone on the lending side was getting rich, including the lobbyists and the politicians. However, once the shit hit the fan they all scattered like ants and they were all point their fingers at each other. I believe they were in it together. No proof, just an opinion.