We use loan level data from the NYC metropolitan area to examine the extent to which lenders attempted to prevent foreclosures with concessionary modifications during the Great Depression. We find no principal forgiveness in the sample and only a handful of concessionary mortgage modifications...

We assemble a unique dataset of commercial mortgages with information on loan characteristics at origination and subsequent performance. The most significant difference between securitized and balance sheet loans is the size of the loan. The loans in the highest loan size decile have a 43%...

We analyze how Dodd-Frank mandated risk retention affects the information investors extract from issuers' retention choices in the CMBS market. We show that the required retention level is both binding and stringent. Although this implies issuers cannot signal using the level of retention, we...

We study complexity in the market for securitized products, a market at the heart of the financial crisis of 2007-2009. The complexity of these products rose substantially in the years preceding the financial crisis. We find that securities in more complex deals default more and have lower...