Looking at a sample of conventional fixed-rate mortgages, this paper examines whether lending practices are consistent with the competitive hypothesis that the racial and ethnic composition of the borrower's neighborhood affects the contract rate charged only to the extent that these...

Looking at a sample of conventional fixed-rate mortgages, this paper examines whether lending practices are consistent with the competitive hypothesis that the racial and ethnic composition of the borrower's neighborhood affects the contract rate charged only to the extent that these...

Because of impersonal securitization in the secondary market, the ultimate investors in a mortgage have only a limited amount of information about the borrower's characteristics. This creates an asymmetric information problem because of hidden knowledge on the part of the primary lenders, who...

Because of impersonal securitization in the secondary market, the ultimate investors in a mortgage have only a limited amount of information about the borrower's characteristics. This creates an asymmetric information problem because of hidden knowledge on the part of the primary lenders, who...

Using data on privately-securitized subprime ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) originated between 1997 and 2008 and observed between 2000 and 2008, and so covering the start of the subprime crisis, this paper constructs a reduced-form credit risk model of default, and then uses contractual...