One of the more dramatic financial events of the late 1980s and early 1990s was the surge in Japanese stock prices that was immediately followed by a very sharp decline of more than 50 percent. While the unprecedented fluctuations in Japanese stock prices were domestic financial shocks, the...

Derivatives have become an essential instrument for hedging risks, yet moral hazard can lead to their misuse by problem banks. Given that the absence of comprehensive data on bank derivatives activities prevents an accurate assessment of bank risk-taking, banks have an opportunity to take...

The stock of real estate loans held by New England Banks has declined dramatically. Given the limited potential for real estate investments, weak demand for real estate loans is to be expected. However supply as well as demand for real estate factors may account for some of the decline in bank...

A key provision of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 was prompt corrective action (PCA). PCA emphasized early intervention by bank supervisors and was intended to limit forbearance by making supervisory intervention more timely and less discretionary. However,...

The dramatic reduction in the growth rate of bank lending associated with the 1990-91 recession, particularly in New England that has evoked claims by many observers of a credit crunch. However because of the difficulty in determining whether the observed slow credit growth is a demand or supply...