Why were some banks heavily affected by mortgage crises, while others barely? Why were some banking sectors dominated by “originate and distribute” model, while others were trading? Why did some banks decide not to follow the others, and preferred to stay traditional banks? How the models...

In this study, we analyze why U.S. commercial banks failed during the recent financial crisis. We find that proxies for commercial real estate investments, as well as traditional proxies for the CAMELS components, do an excellent job in explaining the failures of banks that were closed during...