(RECAP: Established lenders are reluctant to ease their rules out of concern that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA will force them to buy back bad loans with underwriting errors. Banks also don’t want to take risks on loans that government programs won’t insure. That’s starting to change, with at least 15 smaller firms this year offering slightly riskier mortgages, sometimes at higher interest rates or requiring larger down payments, that aren’t backed by the government. The mortgages are being held on balance sheets or sold to investment funds as the securitization market has been slow to recover.)