Is Dodd-Frank the Biggest Law Ever?
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (commonly known as Dodd-Frank), which was intended to address perceived problems in the financial system and prevent future crises, is the [...]
Is the CRA Still Relevant to Mortgage Lending?
Market share of conforming-size, home purchase mortgage originations has steadily and substantially shifted from banking institutions to nonbank lenders over recent years. In 2017, nonbanks originated more than 1.8 million [...]
The Monetary Basis of Bank Supervision
A series of statutory provisions codified at Title 12 of the U.S. Code empower special government officials known as supervisors to examine banks and tell bankers what to do, not [...]
Jumbo rates are below conforming rates: When did this happen and why?
Pre-crisis estimates of the jumbo-conforming spread, utilizing a variety of methodologies, ranged from 10 to 25 basis points. In the post-crisis period, this spread has decreased and has been negative [...]
Corporate bond clawbacks as contingent capital for banks
We propose a contingent clawback bond (COCLA) as an alternative source of contingent convertible capital (CoCo). We develop a utility maximization model in which a bank manager faces the following [...]
Macroprudential Policy: What We’ve Learned, Don’t Know, and Need to Do
Over the last decade, macroprudential policy has made important advances and become more widely used. We have a better understanding of its goals and tools, and are accumulating evidence that [...]
Interbank Connections, Contagion and Bank Distress in the Great Depression
Liquidity shocks transmitted through interbank connections contributed to bank distress during the Great Depression. New data on interbank connections reveal that banks were much more likely to close when their [...]
How Do Mortgage Refinances Affect Debt, Default, and Spending? Evidence from HARP
This paper seeks to refine our understanding of how refinancing a mortgage affects household outcomes. This issue has attracted particular attention in the wake of the Great Recession, however, there [...]
Basel III Monitoring Report
"This report presents the results of the Basel Committee's latest Basel III monitoring exercise, based on data as of 30 June 2018. Through a rigorous reporting process, the Committee regularly [...]
The Big Con – Reassessing the “Great” Recession and its “Fix”
Most economists differ, not on the causes of the Great Recession, but on their relative importance. They concur, though, on the basic problem, namely human, not market failure. This study [...]