Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman
I Got It Wrong
The former Fed chief admitted in front of Congress that he was wrong. Greenspan told the House Oversight Committee that he made the "mistake" of believing that banks would be more prudent in their lending practices because of the need to protect their stockholders, which was proven wrong by the current crisis.
Furthermore, Greenspan said he had failed to predict a significant decline in home prices because the country had never experienced such a decline before.
"Indeed, recent research within the Federal Reserve suggests that many homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixed-rate mortgages." -- February 2004
