Banks and regulators have come under pressure to ease lending standard to help boost mortgage originations. The National Association of Realtors, which says it spent last month attempting to get lending standards loosened, notes that 2010 figures are comparatively low, not because of decline in demand but because of strict requirements for borrowers. The four largest banks in the U.S.—Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup—combined for $916 in mortgage originations last year, a drop of 12% from the preceding year.

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