Two main factors influence the changes in the spatial organisation of financial institutions : the higher competition in the financial sector and the communication technologies rise. More and more, financial institutions delocalise their standard activities in the cities where the costs are...

Abstract. The credit market collapse and housing-led economic recession beginning in 2007-2008 have resulted in several million distressed homes in the U.S. that are in various stages of delinquency, default, and foreclosure. Over the past three to four years, a number of private equity...

This paper analyzes options for reforming the U.S. housing finance system in view of the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as government sponsored enterprises (GSEs). The options considered include GSE reform, a range of possible new governmental mortgage guarantee plans, and greater...

This paper examines the factors that affect branch location choice of depository lenders. Consistent with previous studies, the tract level analysis in this paper finds a strong negative impact of neighborhood income and minority composition on individual access to depository branches even after...

Though Congress and Presidents Bush and Obama put forth several different mortgage modification programs, the rate of foreclosures has continued to rise over the past several years. According to CoreLogic, about one-in-four (23%) mortgages were underwater in the second quarter of 2010, and...

Financially constrained borrowers have the incentive to influence the appraisal process in order to increase borrowing or reduce the interest rate. We document that the average valuation bias for residential refinance transactions is above 5%. The bias is larger for highly leveraged...

The fundamental connection between the spatial development of cities and financial markets is a topic that has received little attention from either urbanists or economists. In this short piece, I argue that part of the post-crisis recovery is predicated on a multi-faceted understanding of the...

This issue brief discusses a plan that would effectively deal with the mounting problem of home foreclosures in this country. The main point of the plan is that those who are facing foreclosure should have the option to remain in their home for a substantial period of time as renters. There are...