The Rise and Fall of the US Mortgage and Credit Markets: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Market Meltdown
For decades, the home mortgage market successfully extended credit to more and more families, enabling millions of Americans to own their own homes. In recent years, however, it became ever more apparent that credit was expanding too rapidly and too many market participants were becoming dangerously leveraged. What began as healthy growth in mortgage originations and housing starts swiftly became a home price bubble. When home prices did come plunging back to earth, the damage quickly spread far beyond the scope of the actual mortgage defaults and foreclosures. Even solid companies with no connection to the real estate and finance sectors were affected as credit markets seized up. How did this happen—and what can we do about it now?

In The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Markets, James Barth, with the assistance of his colleagues at the Milken Institute, analyzes in detail the mortgage meltdown and the resulting worldwide financial crisis. He explains how Main Street and Wall Street alike took on too much risk and too much debt in their quest for gains, setting the crisis in motion.

In straightforward terms, he tells what subprime mortgages are, who subprime borrowers are, and how securitization—packaging loans into complex securities and selling them in the secondary market—expanded the mortgage market, but also opened the door to a shifting of risk. Barth also assesses what went wrong in every other critical area, including loan origination practices, regulation and supervision, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, leverage and accounting practices, and, of course, the rating agencies.

The author explains the steps the government has taken thus far and suggests that those actions have been piecemeal—and largely reactive, rather than proactive. He argues that we have yet to address the bigger and more long-term issue of how to reform the structure of regulation and supervision to prevent a similar crisis from happening again. Barth also offers his own thoughts on the factors that should drive reform and explores several important issues that policymakers must address in any future reshaping of financial market regulations.

"1130198362"
The Rise and Fall of the US Mortgage and Credit Markets: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Market Meltdown
For decades, the home mortgage market successfully extended credit to more and more families, enabling millions of Americans to own their own homes. In recent years, however, it became ever more apparent that credit was expanding too rapidly and too many market participants were becoming dangerously leveraged. What began as healthy growth in mortgage originations and housing starts swiftly became a home price bubble. When home prices did come plunging back to earth, the damage quickly spread far beyond the scope of the actual mortgage defaults and foreclosures. Even solid companies with no connection to the real estate and finance sectors were affected as credit markets seized up. How did this happen—and what can we do about it now?

In The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Markets, James Barth, with the assistance of his colleagues at the Milken Institute, analyzes in detail the mortgage meltdown and the resulting worldwide financial crisis. He explains how Main Street and Wall Street alike took on too much risk and too much debt in their quest for gains, setting the crisis in motion.

In straightforward terms, he tells what subprime mortgages are, who subprime borrowers are, and how securitization—packaging loans into complex securities and selling them in the secondary market—expanded the mortgage market, but also opened the door to a shifting of risk. Barth also assesses what went wrong in every other critical area, including loan origination practices, regulation and supervision, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, leverage and accounting practices, and, of course, the rating agencies.

The author explains the steps the government has taken thus far and suggests that those actions have been piecemeal—and largely reactive, rather than proactive. He argues that we have yet to address the bigger and more long-term issue of how to reform the structure of regulation and supervision to prevent a similar crisis from happening again. Barth also offers his own thoughts on the factors that should drive reform and explores several important issues that policymakers must address in any future reshaping of financial market regulations.

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The Rise and Fall of the US Mortgage and Credit Markets: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Market Meltdown

The Rise and Fall of the US Mortgage and Credit Markets: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Market Meltdown

by James Barth
The Rise and Fall of the US Mortgage and Credit Markets: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Market Meltdown

The Rise and Fall of the US Mortgage and Credit Markets: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Market Meltdown

by James Barth

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Overview

For decades, the home mortgage market successfully extended credit to more and more families, enabling millions of Americans to own their own homes. In recent years, however, it became ever more apparent that credit was expanding too rapidly and too many market participants were becoming dangerously leveraged. What began as healthy growth in mortgage originations and housing starts swiftly became a home price bubble. When home prices did come plunging back to earth, the damage quickly spread far beyond the scope of the actual mortgage defaults and foreclosures. Even solid companies with no connection to the real estate and finance sectors were affected as credit markets seized up. How did this happen—and what can we do about it now?

In The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Markets, James Barth, with the assistance of his colleagues at the Milken Institute, analyzes in detail the mortgage meltdown and the resulting worldwide financial crisis. He explains how Main Street and Wall Street alike took on too much risk and too much debt in their quest for gains, setting the crisis in motion.

In straightforward terms, he tells what subprime mortgages are, who subprime borrowers are, and how securitization—packaging loans into complex securities and selling them in the secondary market—expanded the mortgage market, but also opened the door to a shifting of risk. Barth also assesses what went wrong in every other critical area, including loan origination practices, regulation and supervision, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, leverage and accounting practices, and, of course, the rating agencies.

The author explains the steps the government has taken thus far and suggests that those actions have been piecemeal—and largely reactive, rather than proactive. He argues that we have yet to address the bigger and more long-term issue of how to reform the structure of regulation and supervision to prevent a similar crisis from happening again. Barth also offers his own thoughts on the factors that should drive reform and explores several important issues that policymakers must address in any future reshaping of financial market regulations.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780470493885
Publisher: Wiley
Publication date: 06/22/2009
Sold by: JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format: eBook
Pages: 562
File size: 17 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

JAMES R. BARTH is a Senior Fellow at the Milken Institute and the Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance at Auburn University. His research focuses on financial institutions and capital markets, both domestic and global, with special emphasis on regulatory issues. Barth was an appointee of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush as chief economist of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and later of the Office of Thrift Supervision. He has authored more than 200 articles in professional journals and has written and edited several books, including The Great Savings and Loan Debacle, The Reform of Federal Deposit Insurance, and Rethinking Bank Regulation: Till Angels Govern. Barth has been quoted in publications ranging from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal and has appeared on broadcast programs including The McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, Good Morning America, Moneyline, and CNBC's Closing Bell.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xi

List of Tables xxv

Acknowledgments xxxiii

Chapter 1 Overleveraged, from Main Street to Wall Street 1

Chapter 2 Overview of the Housing and Mortgage Markets 9

Housing Units, Mortgage Debt, and Household Wealth 9

Types of Home Mortgages 15

Two Housing Finance Models: Originate-to-Hold vs. Originate-to-Distribute 22

Low Interest Rates Contribute to Credit Boom and Record Homeownership Rates 29

Mortgage Originations, Home Prices, and Sales Skyrocket 36

Chapter 3 Buildup and Meltdown of the Mortgage and Credit Markets 41

What Is a Subprime Mortgage and Who Is a Subprime Borrower? 42

Subprime Lending Grows Rapidly and New Products Gain Acceptance 46

Subprime Mortgages Enable More Widespread Homeownership 56

Securitization Facilitates the Funding of Subprime Mortgages 61

The Housing Bubble Reaches the Breaking Point 65

The Collapse Begins 74

Chapter 4 When Will the Crisis End? 101

What Is the Damage Scorecard to Date? 102

The Pain Spreads throughout the Financial Sector and Beyond 112

When Will We Hit Bottom? 135

Chapter 5 What Went Wrong...? 143

...with Origination Practices and New Financial Products? 145

...with Securitization and Rating Agencies? 153

...with Leverage and Accounting Practices? 160

...with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? 172

...with Tax Benefits for Homeownerships? 182

...with Regulation and Supervision? 184

...with the Greed Factor? 204

Assessing the Role of Various Factors to Explain Foreclosures 207

Chapter 6 So Far, Only Piecemeal Fixes 219

The Landscape Shifts for Lenders 220

The Federal Reserve Intervenes to Provide Liquidity and Higher-Quality Collateral 231

Congress and the WhiteHouse Take Steps to Contain the Damage 249

The FDIC Takes Steps to Instill Greater Confidence in Depository Institutions 269

The Government's Actions Drive up the Deficit 274

Chapter 7 Where Should We Go from Here? 287

Key Factors That Should Drive Reform 289

Issues for Policymakers 293

Concluding Thoughts 319

Appendix 321

Endnotes 445

Glossary 451

References 479

About the Milken Institute and General Disclaimer 507

About the Authors 509

Index 513

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