Paladino blames Cuomo for housing bubble

New York’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, Carl Paladino, is blaming the U.S. housing bubble that triggered the global financial crisis on his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Reuters reported. Paladino linked the bubble to policies carried out by Cuomo when he was the secretary of housing and urban development during Bill Clinton’s second presidential term from 1997 to 2001. Paladino, a real estate developer from Buffalo, said Cuomo pressured the Federal Housing Authority and housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to promote greater homeownership by reducing mortgage standards. That goal, Paladino said, was the reason banks offered millions of mortgages to unqualified buyers, who later defaulted and left the economy in shambles. Paladino will face Cuomo in the Nov. 2 election. [Reuters via CNBC]