Report Offensive Message

When did the US government tell the banks they were required to abandon safe lending practices? And if government did, in fact, do so, wouldn't the banks have been perfectly justified in telling the government where to go and how to get off when it got there? Do you think the banks wouldn't have done that if compliance meant a decrease in profits?

More information...
http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/commentary/2009/0509.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis