In contrast, the US Fed still pursued an accommodative policy of low, to effective negative interest rates up through the first half of the year, commencing its new tightening cycle in June.

He fashioned interest-only loans from 1 to 5 years, and theutterly preposterous negative-interest loans with an option not to pay on theprinciple between 1 to 5 years.

"Negative amortisation" (neg-am) mortgages even let people pay only part of their interest each month and to add the rest to the principal, increasing their debt, not their savings.