Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS, Inc.”) owns legal title to some 30 million mortgages in the United States. The company, which was a key part of the mortgage securitization apparatus in the late 1990s and 2000s, is now under intense pressure from public and private...

Recent years have seen a new trend in commercial bank lending—loans with no financial covenants. These covenant light, or cov-lite, loans raise concerns about excessive risk to lenders due to lack of monitoring. In this study, we examine the consequences of cov-lite loans. Focusing on rated,...

I investigate the spillover effects of disclosure requirements imposed by state governments on oil and gas companies operating in the state. Recently, several state governments have begun requiring companies to publicly disclose information about chemicals used in their fracking operations. The...

We examine the real effects of FAS 166 and FAS 167 on banks' loan-level mortgage approval and sale decisions. Effective in 2010, these standards tightened the accounting for securitizations and consolidation of securitization entities, respectively, causing banks to recognize an estimated $811...

Contrary to the guidance provided by regulators and industry associations suggesting that mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) be recorded as Level 3 assets, Altamuro and Zhang identify that 25% of banks classify them as Level 2 assets. This variation in the asset classification of a single asset...

We examine the real effects of FAS 166 and FAS 167 on banks' loan‐level mortgage approval and sale decisions. Effective in 2010, these standards tightened the accounting for securitizations and consolidation of securitization entities, respectively, causing banks to recognize an estimated $811...

Much attention has been paid to the large decreases in value of non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) during the financial crisis. Many observers have argued that the fall in prices was partly driven by decreased liquidity and fire sales. We investigate whether capital...

This article examines the concept of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issued in the securitisation programs in a theoretical context. First, it outlines a general explanation of the securitisation process, focusing particularly on MBS programs, within a context of microeconomic theory. Second,...

This case uses a real mortgage company that was once the 10th largest mortgage loan originator in the U.S. The case sheds light on shadow banking system, important accounting issues in the mortgage bank industry and industry-specific business risks. Students are required to read AKM's financial...

This paper examines the relationship between real estate prices during the home price boom from the late 1990s into 2005 and competition among mortgage lenders. The mortgage lending business, especially with the rise of the originate-to-distribute model, had competitors with very different...