The New York Times reports:

Former Washington Mutual (WaMu) senior mortgage underwriter Keysha Cooper tells of the bank’s unethical and deceptive lending practices. According to her, “At WaMu it wasn’t about the quality of the loans; it was about the numbers.” “They didn’t care if we were giving loans to people that didn’t qualify. Instead, it was how many loans did you guys close and fund?”

According to her, when underwriters did not approve even the most questionable loans, they were punished and she believes that her unwillingness to approve dubious loans led to her ultimate lay off. According to her, she was made to approve roughly 60 percent of the loans she saw at her supervisors’ orders.

For more, see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/business/02gret.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1.