The mortgage companies were supplied with funds and encouraged to write loans by the bankers. The appraisers and brokers were just pawns in the big money game. If they did not write the deals and OK them the bankers would find somebody else who would. The brokers and appraisers make peanuts compared to what the bankers made.
The good news
Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
And the old news
Outlook: Merrill's humiliation provides the City with a wake-up call - Business Comment, Business - Independent.co.uk