We examine the effect of bank mergers on the price and availability of credit in the residential mortgage market. We find that, compared to non-acquiring banks in the same local market, acquiring banks that gain large market shares charge significantly higher interest rates but also lend larger...

This paper studies the impact of the global financial crisis (GFC) on home mortgage pricing strategies and the credit supply of Australian financial institutions (FIs). It first employs the traditional error correction model to investigate the pass-through of monetary shocks by Australian FIs....

This paper uses high frequent product-level data to study the pricing and sales of home mortgages in Australia, focusing on the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The study finds responses to a monetary shock vary substantially across financial institutions and big banks lead in price...

Since the Spring of 2009, Dutch mortgage rates have been structurally high, both in comparison to the rest of Europe and to funding costs. This paper reviews the debate on possible causes, which are of two kinds: (i) the higher mortgage rates reflect higher funding costs; and (ii) softer...

We provide a framework for empirical analysis of negotiated-price markets. Using mortgage market data and a search and negotiation model, we characterize the welfare impact of search frictions and quantify the role of search costs and brand loyalty for market power. Search frictions reduce...

In 2007, as American housing markets started to decline, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) dramatically increased their acquisitions of low-FICO and high loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages. By 2008, the agencies had reversed course decreasing their high-risk acquisitions. I develop a theory...

How do primary and secondary mortgage markets interact? This paper shows that funding shocks to mortgage originators interact with the degree of local credit market competition to increase lending growth. Specifically, I use a shift-share approach to estimate the causal effect of the growth in...

This paper shows how price leadership bans imposed, as part of the European Commission's State aid control, on all main mortgage providers but the largest bank shifted the Dutch mortgage market from a competitive to a collusive price leadership equilibrium. In May 2009, mortgage rates in The...

We examine the effects of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS, on mortgage origination volumes and foreclosure rates prior to the Great Recession. MERS was introduced in the late 1990s and significantly reduced the cost and time associated with secondary mortgage sales. Using...