Regulators have expressed concern about the growth of a category of real estate investment trusts (REITs) that today invest primarily in mortgage-backed securities (MBS). These companies, known as mortgage REITs, or mREITs, have increased both in number and in asset size since the financial...

The insurance fund covering most savings institutions might not be as safe as its name suggests.

This article examines those real estate investment trusts (REITs) that invest predominantly in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and fund themselves with repurchase agreements (repos)---so-called mortgage REITS, or mREITs. mREITs grew quite rapidly after the financial crisis that began in 2008...

The U.S. financial system has changed significantly over the last several decades without any major structural changes to the decentralized financial regulatory system, despite numerous proposals. In the past decade, many countries have chosen to consolidate their regulators into a newly formed...

In response to the financial crisis of 2007, Congress created the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA) as part of its overarching financial regulatory reform bill, the Dodd-Frank Act. The OLA's provisions are aimed at simultaneously addressing two conflicting goals---mitigating systemic risk,...

Legislative and regulatory actions taken in response to the financial turmoil that occurred between 2007-2009 expanded the extent to which financial institution liabilities were protected by federal government guarantees, i.e., these actions expanded the federal financial safety net. How large...

In response to the financial crisis of 2007–09, Congress created the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA), a new regime for winding down systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) that become troubled. The OLA provisions address two conflicting goals: mitigating threats to the...