Purpose – This paper investigates the link between equity and credit markets for the government‐sponsored mortgage institutions, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, during the period from January 2007 until December 2008. Before the financial crisis, investors perceived these real estate finance...

This paper examines the link between equity and credit markets for major financial institutions during times of heightened stress and increased default risk. We focus on sizeable US firms, which either failed or required substantial government support during 2008. Our examination of daily...