Frank was part of the problem but the bigger cause was Greenspan. Bush contributed too and others.
I expect to be flamed as an enemy of capitalism (and I truly am not), but here goes.
We have a good deal of comfort about the capital cushions at these firms at the moment. Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, March 11, 2008.
I do blame Frank, Clinton, Holder, Kennedy, etc. but Cox was on Bush's watch. The SEC in 2004 allowed "exemptions" for "big" investment firms like Bear Stearns to increase their leverage to 33 to 1. Pauson was pushing hard for these "exemptions." Two years later he became treasury secretary, and then in 2008 -- well, you know.
I believe that 2004 SEC decision helped the investment firms to hide the bad mortgages, and that we still have not discovered all the losses and risks.
U.S. Rescue May Reach $23.7 Trillion, Barofsky Says (Update3)