BarbaraHudson's Journal: Ben Bernanke tries to refinance for 3rd time in 5 years, turned down.

So Ben Bernanke tried to refinance his home for a 3rd time in 5 years, and got turned down. Guess what, Ben? You shouldn't be treating your home as an ATM.

Bernanke reportedly bought his home in 2004, slightly before he was named as America's top central banker and the man with more control over lending rates than anyone else on Earth.

He refinanced the home in 2009, then again in 2011. And based on his comments this week, it appears he was rejected by a bank when he tried to do so again recently.

"Just between the two of us," Bloomberg quoted him as telling the audience. âoeI recently tried to refinance my mortgage and I was unsuccessful in doing so."

When the comment drew laughs, he added "Iâ(TM)m not making that up."

"I think itâ(TM)s entirely possible" that lenders "may have gone a little bit too far on mortgage credit conditions," he said.

I guess the 1%ers still think that absolutely none of the rules don't apply to them, and that banks should continue to make risky loans to them, just because of who they are.

Saw that this morning

[mcgrew]

I guess the 1%ers still think that absolutely none of the rules don't apply to them, and that banks should continue to make risky loans to them, just because of who they are.

From where I sit in the middle of the bell curve it looks to me like the rules actually DON'T apply to the 1%. And maybe it's possible, but how could a loan to someone that rich be the least bit risky?

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[plover]

Just because the 1%ers have money doesn't mean they're honest. And the bank is run by people who understand this about themselves.

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[BarbaraHudson]

Plus, the bank knows better than we do what his true financial position is. When the money is just rolling in and you can re-finance every couple of years to get an extra cash cushion, look at how bat-crap crazy some people go. I had a friend who bought a place, he's also refinanced a few times (rolling in consumer and credit card debt each time) - he now owes more than 3x what he originally paid for it. And this is without any fancy upgrades or anything. Within a couple of months of his last refi, he ha

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[mcgrew]

Just because the 1%ers have money doesn't mean they're honest.

I would think hoards of cash would indicate more of a tendency to dishonesty than honesty. It's hard to make an honest dollar, far easier to steal one.

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[fustakrakich]

Bernanke's no "1%er". He is an errand boy. You don't see 1%ers on the TV, unless somebody is paying them to be there.

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[mcgrew]

You see plenty of 1%ers on TV. Hell, half of Congress is in the 1% club. The ones you don't see are the .01%ers; they hold the real reins of power..

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[fustakrakich]

When I say "1%er", it's that tiny percentage you speak of. The general "1%ers" are in the same rickety boat as the rest of us. They're just in the 1st class section, above the waterline, with life jackets. They might stay up a little longer, but eventually the sharks get them too. And take some splice in knowing that the .000001%ers eat their young (and old) too. There is war in heaven. The losers get sent here, and we sign over complete power to them. On the proverbial silver platter we give them heaven on

I'd like to cross-examine the witness

[smittyoneeach]

Me: "Was your initial rejection delivered by an algorithm?"
Ben: "Precisely"
Me: "And did your assistant's call to Dempsey E. Baxter-Thurston over at the country club whisk that problem out to the cornfield?"
Ben: "You know Dempsey?"