The NYT reported that Barney Frank, the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, complained about the conduct of the bank bailout that “the anecdotal evidence is still overwhelming that there are people who think they are good borrowers who can’t get loans.”
It would have been appropriate to note that the data appears to contradict Mr. Frank's anecdotal evidence. There has been no surge in the number of mortgages applications over last few months. (They did jump last week in response to lower interest rates.) If people felt that they were creditworthy, but were being turned down anyhow, then they should be a sharp rise in the number of mortgage applications relative to house sales. Since this has not taken place, it seems that Mr. Frank is wrong in his assertion.
The NYT could have better informed its readers by calling attention to this fact.
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