LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:
NPR's business news starts with the back story on VIP loans.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
WERTHEIMER: A former mortgage company, Countrywide, used a VIP loan program to buy influence with members of Congress, staffers and other officials, including a number at Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage giant central to Countrywide's business. That the bottom line of a new report out today from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The report says until the housing market crashed, Countrywide's effort to build good will on Capital Hill worked. It said the failed company became a trusted adviser in Congress and was consulted with Congress considered reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and also considered unfair lending practices. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
