In July 2008, the government attempted to ease market fears by reiterating their view that 'Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a central role in the US housing finance system'. This depreciation in home prices led to growing losses for the GSEs, which back the majority of US mortgages.

As a result, home prices declined as increasing foreclosures added to the already large inventory of homes and stricter lending standards made it more and more difficult for borrowers to get mortgages. The growth of private-label securitization and lack of regulation in this part of the market resulted in the oversupply of underpriced housing finance that led, in 2006, to an increasing number of borrowers, often with poor credit, who were unable to pay their mortgages-particularly with adjustable rate mortgages (ARM)-caused a precipitous increase in home foreclosures. In contrast, the wholly public FHA/Ginnie Mae maintained their underwriting standards and instead ceded market share. Shareholder pressure pushed the GSEs into competition with PLS for market share, and the GSEs loosened their guarantee business underwriting standards in order to compete.

The growth of PLS, however, forced the GSEs to lower their underwriting standards in an attempt to reclaim lost market share to please their private shareholders. Thus, the shift away from GSE securitization to private-label securitization (PLS) also corresponded with a shift in mortgage product type, from traditional, amortizing, fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) to nontraditional, structurally riskier, nonamortizing, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), and in the start of a sharp deterioration in mortgage underwriting standards. Earnings depended on volume, so maintaining elevated earnings levels necessitated expanding the borrower pool using lower underwriting standards and new products that the GSEs would not (initially) securitize. When interest rates eventually rose, financial institutions sought to maintain their elevated earnings levels with a shift toward riskier mortgages and private label MBS distribution.

From 2001-2003, financial institutions experienced high earnings due to an unprecedented re-financing boom brought about by historically low interest rates.

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