Depository institutions may use information advantages along dimensions not observed or considered by outside parties to "cream-skim," meaning to transfer risk to naïve, uninformed, or unconcerned investors through the sale or securitization process. This paper examines whether "cream-skimming"...

The recent mortgage crisis has resulted in several bank failures as the number of mortgage defaults increased. The current Basel I capital framework does not require banks to hold sufficient amounts of capital to support their mortgage lending activities. The new Basel II capital rules are...

Depository institutions may utilize securitization to "cherry pick," meaning to transfer risk to investors along dimensions that the investors tend to disregard or misperceive. Using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data merged with data on subprime loan delinquency by ZIP code, this paper examines...