There is considerable heterogeneity in the organizational structures of CMBS loan originators and in their incentives for underwriting risky loans. We treat an originator's organizational type - commercial bank, investment bank, insurance company, finance company, conduit lender, or...

The increase in defaults in the subprime mortgage market is widely held to be one of the causes behind the recent financial turmoil. Key issues of policy concern include quantifying the role of various factors, such as home price declines and loosened underwriting standards, in the recent...

A commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) is a claim on future returns to a bundle of loans. Empirically, loans that are securitized “in-house” -- when the loan originator is vertically integrated with the issuer of the CMBS -- outperform loans securitized by unaffiliated issuers. I...

The turmoil that started with increased defaults in the subprime mortgage market has generated instability in the financial system around the world. To better understand the root causes of this financial instability, we quantify the relative importance of various drivers behind subprime...