Several readers suggested the new lending guidelines as a topic. "Holy moly! If true, KABOOM! POP! Quote, 'kept intact a proposal that says banks must qualify borrowers for popular payment-option and interest-only loans at a 'fully-indexed' rate — the highest rate that they could incur over the life of the loan.'"

Another said, "I have heard this new rule mentioned a few times, but I had no idea how strict the proposal would be! Unfortunately, there will probably be many loopholes to get around this rule."

"For example, the borrower could state they plan to refinance the loan in a year; therefore, they only need qualify for the teaser rate."

And another, "I understand this board’s general skepticism of the new OCC lending guidelines, but please, read the darn things first. The amazing thing about the guidelines is that they address almost every loophole you can think of. It’s good stuff."

One looks at the lenders role. "If you ever had any notion that the banks/lenders are less adept at screwing with logic than the NAR: The 'biggest US lenders,' according to the article, are against the rules because they will make homes 'LESS affordable' for people!"

"The big lenders are on your side, little guy! I think everyone knows that, in the real world, the best way to make housing affordable is to put in place the strictest lending rules possible. And get rid of all the government 'help' with buying homes. The price of homes would crash overnight."

Another has questions, "A) Does anyone think this will be effective? B) Does anyone think this is closing the barn door after the animals have all fled? C) Does anyone think this late bit of work will accelerate the downturn?"

One reader added, "'The new guidance was issued jointly by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration.'"

"D) Does anyone think this guidance just amounts to cheap CYA talk with no teeth?"

From MarketWatch. "More than a year after Alan Greenspan warned of the "potential for individual disaster" from a new breed of mortgages that were helping to fuel the housing boom, federal regulators finally are trying to do something about it."

"On Friday, in a jointly crafted message, multiple government agencies warned banks in strong terms to make sure borrowers can pay back the full amount of what they borrow and that homeowners know that a low monthly payment today could be shockingly high later."

"In the meantime, the runaway writing of these mortgages went on unchecked, and the fact that nobody in government stood in the way highlights the fact that a patchwork of government bureaucracies was ill-equipped to bring the practice under control, lawmakers and regulators say."

"'We saw the potential for problems occurring,' said John Dugan, the comptroller of the currency, a Treasury Department unit that regulates nationally chartered banks. 'There have been some very abusive problems' by institutions not covered by the guidelines. 'We just don't have jurisdiction,' Dugan added, expressing hope that state regulators would follow with strong guidelines soon."

"'The housing credit bubble led to the growth of exotic loans, which, in a vicious spiral, drove prices even higher, said economist Dean Baker. In a bubble, 'the financing gets progressively worse. At the end, you get nuttiness.'"

"'The guidelines will likely have a chilling effect on option ARM lending at regulated institutions,' said Frederick Cannon, a banking analyst. However, unregulated lenders such as investment banks and real estate investment trusts, could have a competitive advantage because they aren't covered by the new federal guidelines, he said."

"Regulators have to be wary of overregulation. 'You heap disclosure upon disclosure, and at some point they have negative consequences,' said Ned Gramlich, a former Fed governor. Baker says the Fed wasn't shy about extending its authority into a new realm when needed to protect investors, such as the stock market crash of 1987 or the hedge-fund collapse in 1998."

"'At a time of a speculative boom in real estate, market participants find themselves in a moral dilemma: lenders cannot easily maintain their high lending standards and stay competitive when other lenders are weakening standards,' said Robert Shiller, an economics professor at Yale. 'At this time, regulators of lending institutions have some of their most important work to do, and, at the same time, it is especially difficult for them to do it.'"

From Kenneth Harney. "Starting Monday, it's going to get much riskier to fib about your income when you apply for a home mortgage. That's because the Internal Revenue Service is overhauling a key income verification tool used by lenders, making it faster and easier to pull up electronically the confidential income tax information of borrowers."

"Some popular mortgage products themselves open the door to bogus assertions about income. Many lenders in recent years have offered 'stated income'" and other limited documentation mortgages aimed especially at self-employed applicants."

"But now, with the IRS promising to provide electronic transcript tax data within one to two business days in an electronic format, more lenders are likely to run income checks before closing, even on loans to applicants who are not self-employed or using stated-income programs."