This paper shows that banks overstate the value of distressed assets and their regulatory capital during the U.S. mortgage crisis. Banks' balance sheets overvalue real estate-related assets compared to the market value of these assets. Banks with large exposure to mortgage-backed securities also...

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- Glossary -- 1 Introduction -- 2 A Primer on Systemic Risk -- 3 Systemic Risk: A Theoretical Framework -- 4 The Buildup of Financial Imbalances -- 5 Contagion -- 6 Systemic Risk and the Real Costs of FinancialCrises -- 7 Measuring Systemic Risk -- 8 Systemic Risk...

The appropriate level of bank capital and, more generally, a bank's capacity to absorb losses, has been at the core of the post-crisis policy debate. This paper contributes to the debate by focusing on how much capital would have been needed to avoid imposing losses on bank creditors or...