Among the misunderstood elements of the housing crisis is the role of subprime mortgages, said {Paul S. }Mr. Willen, who cautioned that he was speaking yesterday for himself and not for the Federal Reserve Bank. Subprime loans, which are typically risky loans, did not cause the housing crisis on their own, he said. Payday lenders make risky loans, too, but even if they only get 50 cents back for every dollar they lend out, they still make money because they properly price the loans, Mr. Willen said.

We’ve been shouting this from the rooftops, but it’s great to see that even a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston exec agrees.  Here’s the whole story.