This is not unusual at all when a lender has a first and second loan on a property. I see this quite often now days as it was not unusual, pre-melt-down, for someone to get two loans from the same lender in a 80/20 loan amount split. As the first loan was at 80% loan to value, no mortgage insurance was required.
I would guess the Fox writer in not very knowledgeable about past real estate loan practices. Fox does spin stories out of nothing.