We derive the first closed-form optimal mortgage refinancing rule. The expression is derived by using the Lambert-W function to solve a tractable class of mortgage refinancing problems. We calibrate our solution and show that our quantitative results closely match those reported by researchers...

When borrowers are delinquent, senior debtholders prefer liquidation whereas junior debtholders prefer to maintain their option value by delaying resolution or modifying the loan. In the mortgage market, a conflict of interest (“holdup”) arises when servicers of securitized senior liens are...

We propose a new approach to studying the pass-through of credit expansion policies that focuses on frictions, such as asymmetric information, that arise in the interaction between banks and borrowers. We decompose the effect of changes in banks' cost of funds on aggregate borrowing into the...

We study private firms' strategic disclosure of financial statements in shaping bank lending decisions and structuring debt contracts in informationally opaque credit markets. Using a unique dataset of loan applications by small businesses to a large bank, we document that the availability of...

Policymakers are increasingly turning to regulation to reduce hidden or non-salient fees. Yet the overall consumer benefits from these polices are uncertain because firms may increase other prices to offset lost fee revenue. We show that the extent to which firms offset reduced hidden fee...