I guess I just do not understand this stuff.
I own a home. I took out a mortgage. I have been paying it for almost 19 years now.
The bank fulfilled their obligation to me. If I lose my job, I do not expect the bank to really take a huge hit. If the value of my home drops, I don’t expect the bank to forgive me.
I appreciate the anger of someone losing their home...but I just don’t get the anger directed at the banks.
Last time I worked at a bank, we did not put guns to anyone’s head.
It generally depends on the amount and degree of fraud committed by the bank in the process of pursuing the foreclosure.
Suppose you owe $100K on a $250K house when you are laid off.
Suppose the bank then "loses" your next payment, and starts applying lots of fines and fees on your loan, and bumps the interest up, all while continuing to "lose" or misapply your payments. Now you owe $300K on that house and are foreclosed on and get nothing. And in some states you still what's left on the $300K bill after the bank sells your house in a sweetheart deal for $150K.
Banks can and do put figurative guns to peoples heads these days.
nakedcapitalism.com is a bit of a lefty site, but they do a good job with stories on such banking corruption. A search on the term 'fraudclosure' would also help with your education.
So while a lot of what the article describes is simple hooliganism, vandalism for the fun of it in this lawless age, there still is reason to be angry with the banks.
As far as your experience at a financial institution, you need to realize that your experience is one end of the scale, and Jon Corzine is at the other. There's a lot of corruption going on between the two ends.