But the contrast between banks that actually perform due diligence investigations on borrowers, verifying income and recent tax returns, obtaining an estimate from a licensed estimator, and a home inspection report and "mortgage broker" boiler rooms that are allowed to pump out high interest NINJA loans with no restraint from the responsible central bank authorities is not too hard to make. But perhaps these more obvious excesses did not occur in Spain.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."