New rules adopted in hopes of spurring home loans (but not for another year)

``The regulators have dropped a key requirement: a 20% down payment from the borrower if a bank didn't hold at least 5% of the mortgage securities tied to those loans on its books. The long-delayed final rules include the less stringent condition that borrowers not carry excessive debt relative to their income.'' -- So much for forcing originators to have skin in the game...