Remarks at the Westchester County Bankers Association, Tarrytown, New York.

This paper assesses the relative importance of two key drivers of mortgage default: negative equity and illiquidity. To do so, the authors combine loan-level mortgage data with detailed credit bureau information about the borrower's broader balance sheet. This gives them a direct way to measure...

The article comments on some aspects of the present economic crisis. The role of bonuses in a system with principal-agent relationship is discussed. Several other features like the responsibility of rating institutes are considered. A main point is to question our knowledge about the crisis. New...