To what degree has the development of alternative mortgage funding channels promoted the recent boom and bust in U.S. housing markets? Past research examined whether Alt-A and subprime market shares are correlated with the housing bubble. This paper expands the analysis to include the share of...

We investigate determinants of lenders' choice to securitize loans, focusing on the quality of loans they sell to investors in the secondary mortgage market relative to ones they retain on their balance-sheets. Using several large datasets of mortgage loans originated between 2004 and 2007, we...

To what degree has the development of alternative mortgage funding channels promoted the recent boom and bust in U.S. housing markets? Past research examined whether Alt-A and subprime market shares are correlated with the housing bubble. This paper expands the analysis to include the share of...

Toxic mortgage related assets in bank portfolios have tested the pervasive free market wisdom that markets can effectively discipline the risk taking behavior of financial firms. In the buildup to the current crises, banks over-leveraged themselves by investing in risky mortgage securities. In...