...Great Depression. Many researchers, policymakers, economists, and other individuals blame the subprime mortgage market and its collapse for triggering the U.S crisis; many also wonder how such a relatively small market as subprime could cause so much trouble around in the U.S, especially financial institutions that did not get involved with subprime lending or with investment in subprime securities. This paper analyzes financial and economic circumstances associated with the United States financial turmoil that has led to the banking crisis. Section 1 analyzes the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the United States and outlines factors associated with it. Section 2 outlines the economic factors that led to the banking crisis in 2007. Section 3 summarizes suggestions of research about how to remedy the current crisis and possibly avoid crises in the future. Section 4 will discuss the conclusion of the research. The first signs of the subprime mortgage market collapse in the United States were very high and unusual even for subprime market delinquency and foreclosure rates for mortgages originated in 2006 and 2007. Reinhart and Rogoff (2008b). High rates of foreclosures, declining home values, borrowers' impaired credit histories, destabilized neighborhoods, numerous vacant and abandoned properties, the absence of mechanisms providing entry to and exit from the distressed mortgage market and overall economic slowdown created a vicious circle which was beyond the capacity...
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...MORTGAGE PORTFOLIO ANALYZER: A QUASI-STRUCTURAL MODEL OF MORTGAGE PORTFOLIO LOSSES TECHNICAL DOCUMENT 1 Mar 4, 2011 Roger M. Stein Ashish Das Yufeng Ding Shirish Chinchalkar ABSTRACT This document outlines the underlying research, model characteristics, data, and validation results for Mortgage Portfolio Analyzer, which is an analytic tool to assess credit risk measures, capital levels and stress scenarios for portfolios of residential mortgages. Mortgage Portfolio Analyzer comprises loan-level econometric models for default, prepayment, and severity. These models are integrated through common dependence on local macro-economic factors, which can be either simulated at national, state, and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) levels or input in the form of stress scenarios. This integration produces correlation in behaviors of loans across the portfolio. The simulation incorporates a multi-step Monte Carlo approach and generates monthly P&I cash flows and losses which enables the model to be used for ALM applications or to be combined with an external cash flow waterfall tool and used for simulation of RMBS transactions. Scenario and stress testing is also done in a multiperiod framework. Furthermore, the model accommodates both loan-level and portfolio-level mortgage insurance. The resulting tool can be used for analyzing the credit risk in both portfolios of whole loans and RMBS transactions. © 2011 Moody’s Research Labs. All rights reserved. Many past and present members...
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...central element in the current financial crisis is the housing bubble. The irrational exuberance surrounding this bubble created an environment that was ripe for the cowboy financing that got Wall Street and the country into so much trouble. Of course the cowboy financing fed into the bubble, allowing it to grow to proportions that would not have been possible with a well-regulated financial system. This essay first describes the circumstances under which the bubble began to grow. It then discusses how financial innovations and the lack of a proper regulator structure allowed the bubble to grow to ever more dangerous levels and eventually to crash in a way that has placed unprecedented strain on the country’s financial system. The third part outlines key principles for reform of the financial system. The origins of the housing bubble The housing bubble in the United States grew up alongside the stock bubble in the mid-90s. The logic of the growth of the bubble is very simple. People who had increased their wealth substantially with the extraordinary run-up of stock prices were spending based on this increased wealth. This led to the consumption boom of the late 90s, with the savings rate out of disposable income falling from close to 5.0 percent in the middle of the decade to just over 2 percent by 2000. The stock wealth induced consumption boom also led people to buy bigger and/or better homes, since they sought to spend some of their new stock wealth on housing. This increase in...
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...Recession in 2008 was the culmination of a perfect storm of lax regulation, a growing housing bubble, rising popularity of derivatives instruments, and questionable banking practices. In addition to these causes, management incentives, as well as certain US accounting standards, contributed to the financial crisis. We outline the significant effects of these incentive structures, and the role of fair value accounting standards during the crisis, and discuss implications and relevance of these rules to practitioners, standard-setters, and academics. This article is based on a presentation by Deputy Dean and Professor SP Kothari of the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Baruch College on October 25, 2010. 1 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1972354 The Role of Accounting in the Financial Crisis: Lessons for the Future I. Introduction The Great Recession that started in 2008 has had significant effects on the US and global economy; estimates of the amount of US wealth lost are approximately $14 trillion (Luhby 2009). Various causes of the financial crisis have been cited, including lax regulation over mortgage lending, a growing housing bubble, the rise of derivatives instruments such as collaterized debt obligations, and questionable banking practices. In addition to these and many other reasons, we explain two factors that partially contributed to the crisis: certain management incentives and fair value accounting...
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...The Mortgage and Financial Crises: The Role of Credit Risk Management and Corporate Governance William W. Lang Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Ten Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone: 215-574-7225 E-mail: William.Lang@phil.frb.org Julapa Jagtiani Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Ten Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone: 215-574-7284 E-mail: Julapa.Jagtiani@phil.frb.org February 9, 2010 Abstract This paper discusses the role of risk management and corporate governance as causal factors in the onset of the financial crisis. The downturn in the housing and mortgage markets precipitated the first phase of the financial crisis in August 2007 when the solvency of a number of large financial firms was threatened by huge losses in complex structured financial securities. Why did these firms have such high concentrations in mortgage-related securities? Given the information available to firms at the time, these high concentrations in mortgage-related securities violated basic principles of modern risk management. We argue that this failure was a result of principal-agent problems internal to the firms and to breakdowns of corporate governance systems designed to overcome these principal-agent problems. Forthcoming in Atlantic Economic Journal (2010) JEL Classification Numbers: G01, G18, G21, G28 Keywords: Financial Crisis, Risk Management, Corporate Governance, Subprime Crisis _________________________ The opinions expressed in this paper...
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...precarious positions of Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch at the beginning of the subprime mortgage crisis. Both companies had been hit hard by the recent economic problems, and both had recently hired new management in an attempt to navigate through these difficult times. Since risk management failures were viewed as the primary catapult of the crisis, the thinking was that managers with risk management experience would be able to introduce innovative techniques to improve the respective company’s positions. The report will analyze some of the solutions that were proposed, and attempt to apply options analysis through binary trees to quantify these proposals. The Subprime Mortgage Crisis of 2008 Before analyzing the current predicaments of the two companies in the report, an understanding of the subprime mortgage crisis (which includes a discussion on MBS’s and CDO’s) is necessary. An entity, known as the ‘Servicer’, issues debt securities called Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) and raises funds. The funds are used to grant home loans or mortgages. The borrowers or homeowners make monthly payments to the services. These payments include both principal and interest components. The servicer transfers these payments to Mortgage Backed Security Holders or the investors after deducting some spread which can be viewed as profit margin or administrative fee charged by the servicers. Generic Mortgage Backed Securities are further classified in different tiers or tranches to suit...
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...Midterm Paper Perspective on the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 Fatima Sobh 200903216 By early 2007, the crisis started in the U.S. with the collapse of the subprime mortgage market and by reaching the end of a major booming housing era. It occurred just after two years of raising the interest rates policy. Not only had it affected mortgages, it reached the banking sector in the U.S. and across the world as well. It had spilled over into the real economy through a dangerous credit clash and collapsing equities’ market which more likely produced a significant recession. The Fed and other central banks have responded in a classical way by flooding the financial markets with liquidity. As for the fiscal authorities, they dealt with the decline in solvency in the banking system by following the template of earlier bailouts like the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in the 1930s, Sweden in 1992 and Japan in the late 1990s. In August 2007, to be specific, the financial system started to crack. Banks realized that they held considerable amounts of mortgage-backed securities that were difficult to rate. Sadly, after experiencing large losses, banks’ balance sheets could not put up with additional lending. (Cecchetti, 2008) As a result, some financial intermediaries began to face difficulties in finding the short-term financing that was necessary for them to carry on their daily business. Seeing this, policymakers tried to figure out what to do. They started by pursuing some traditional...
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...CHAPTER 6 THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY FINANCE COMPANIES Outline I. Introduction II. Size, Structure, and Composition of the Industry A. Major Types of Finance Companies III. Balance Sheet and Recent Trends A. Consumer Loans B. Residential and Commercial Mortgages C. Business Loans III. Regulation LECTURE NOTES LO – Compare and contrast finance companies to commercial banks using information throughout the chapter. I. INTRODUCTION LO – Know the definition of finance companies (basically, the contents of the following paragraph). ● The primary function of finance companies is to make loans to both individuals and corporations. Services provided by finance companies include consumer lending, business lending, and mortgage financing. Some of the loans are similar to commercial bank loans, such as consumer and auto loans, but others are more specialized. Finance companies differ from banks in that they do not accept deposits, but instead rely on short- and long-term debt. Additionally, finance companies often lend to customers commercial banks find too risky. II. SIZE, STRUCTURE, AND COMPOSITION OF THE INDUSTRY ● Finance companies were originated during the depression when General Electric Corp. created General Electric Capital Corp. (GECC) as a means of financing appliance sales customers unable to get installment credit from banks. By the late 1950s, banks were more willing to make installment...
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...Research in Higher Education Journal Centering the business capstone course on the banking crisis: concrete integrated pedagogy Khalid A. Razaki Dominican University Wayne Koprowski Dominican University Peter Alonzi Dominican University Robert Irons Dominican University Abstract The recent financial crisis offers instructors rich material for business programs regarding the relations between accounting, business law, economics, and finance, as well as ethical issues. This paper offers a concrete approach to developing a business capstone course built around the financial crisis and the lessons it offers business students. Complete pedagogical modules are offered for each discipline, including suggestions for specific assignments in each discipline. Key Words: Capstone Course, Banking Crisis, Pedagogy Centering the Business Capstone Course, Pate 1 Research in Higher Education Journal INTRODUCTION A capstone course is essential in the business school curriculum. It provides each student the time to refresh their grasp of and to hone their ability to apply the principles, tools, and methods of the fields comprising the business curriculum. Further, it gives students the opportunity to integrate the insights of the various fields. The effectiveness of the capstone course can be enhanced by centering the capstone course on the 2008 financial crisis. All students share the common experience of the 2008 crisis’s violent shaking of the economy. It immediately affected each...
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...CHAPTER 1 THE CANADIAN FINANCIAL REPORTING ENVIRONMENT Multiple Choice—Conceptual Answer No. Description d 1. Accounting characteristics. a 2. Nature of financial accounting. c 3. Definition of financial accounting. a 4. Financial reporting entity. d 5. Efficient use of resources. d 6. Capital allocation process. c 7. Assessing management stewardship. c 8. Objectives of financial reporting. a 9. Role of AcSB. c 10. Body responsible for setting GAAP. b 11. Preparation of biased information. d 12. Parties instrumental in development of reporting standards. d 13. Stakeholders in the financial reporting environment.. a 14. “Due process”. d 15. Causes of subprime lending crisis. d 16. Management bias. b 17. Adoption of IFRS. c 18. Role of OSC. d 19. Definition of GAAP. b 20. Changing nature of the economy. d 21. Exercise of professional judgement. c 22. Major factors in the reporting environment. a 23. Impact of technology on financial reporting. b 24. Nature of the “Balanced Scorecard”. a 25. Responsibility for financial statements. d 26. GAAP for private enterprises. d 27. Reporting principles b 28. SOX. a 29 AcSB’s standard setting process Exercises Item Description E1-30 Objectives of financial reporting. E1-31 Role of securities commissions and stock exchanges. E1-32 User needs. E1-33 Sources of GAAP. E1-34 Standard Setting. E1-35 Challenges facing financial reporting. E1-36...
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...CHAPTER 1 THE CANADIAN FINANCIAL REPORTING ENVIRONMENT Multiple Choice—Conceptual Answer No. Description d 1. Accounting characteristics. a 2. Nature of financial accounting. c 3. Definition of financial accounting. a 4. Financial reporting entity. d 5. Efficient use of resources. d 6. Capital allocation process. c 7. Assessing management stewardship. c 8. Objectives of financial reporting. a 9. Role of AcSB. c 10. Body responsible for setting GAAP. b 11. Preparation of biased information. d 12. Parties instrumental in development of reporting standards. d 13. Stakeholders in the financial reporting environment.. a 14. “Due process”. d 15. Causes of subprime lending crisis. d 16. Management bias. b 17. Adoption of IFRS. c 18. Role of OSC. d 19. Definition of GAAP. b 20. Changing nature of the economy. d 21. Exercise of professional judgement. c 22. Major factors in the reporting environment. a 23. Impact of technology on financial reporting. b 24. Nature of the “Balanced Scorecard”. a 25. Responsibility for financial statements. d 26. GAAP for private enterprises. d 27. Reporting principles b 28. SOX. a 29 AcSB’s standard setting process Exercises Item Description E1-30 Objectives of financial reporting. E1-31 Role of securities commissions and stock exchanges. E1-32 User needs. E1-33 Sources of GAAP. E1-34 Standard Setting. E1-35 Challenges facing financial reporting. E1-36...
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...THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS LJUBLJANA THE CRISIS IN GREECE subject: TAXES MAY 2013 TAXES THE CRISIS IN GREECE author: P.Fux Contents INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 3 GENESIS OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS (USA) ................................................................. 3 THE TIPPING POINT ........................................................................................................... 3 IMPACT OF BANKING CRISIS ON EU - DEVELOPMENT OF FISCAL CRISIS .............. 4 WHAT HAPPENED IN GREECE............................................................................................. 4 DEBT IS HER OLDEST COMPANION ............................................................................... 5 CRISIS HAS SHOWN FIRST EFFECTS.............................................................................. 5 HOW MARKETS SAW GREECE ........................................................................................ 6 GREECE'S PROBLEMS SINCE THE CRISIS HAS ARISEN and BAILOUTS ..................... 7 The huge numbers of Greece's debt in pictures (2012) ...................................................... 9 A FEW WORDS ABOUT GREECE'S RATIOS ..................................................................... 10 THE GOVERNMENT SPENDINGS ..............................................................
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...institutions. Provide examples. Explain and critically analyse both the shareholder and stakeholder models of corporate social responsibility. Can the US government’s actions be justified from either (or both) of these models? Consider both short and long-term consequences of this government intervention. Conclude whether the action taken by the US government is best for society?’ The Global Financial Crisis of the last few years has caused widespread problems for the US government, who were forced to spend billions of (taxpayer) dollars bailing out many of the world’s largest top banks. While a controversial decision, the US government acted on the belief that these institutions were ‘too big to fail’ and their collapse would have far reaching consequences that could have lead to a much dire situation. Throughout this essay, the causes and effects that lead to the GFC and the need for a bank bailout, along with what exactly it entailed will be presented. Then, the US governments’ response in bailing out the banks will be analysed using both a Stakeholder and Shareholder model of Corporate Social Responsibility. Their decision will attempt to be justified against these models by examining both the long and short term effects of the government intervention and conclude whether or not the action taken by the US government was in the best interests of society at large. The global financial crisis of the 21st century was a phenomenon that deeply affected the world and in...
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...strategies used to control the clients financial investment gain and in most cases loss. Furthermore, this paper will outline the unethical behavior that was associated with the fraudulent transactions of Goldman Sachs as it related to the clients and public investors. Was Goldman Sachs Socially Responsible? The problem to be investigated is whether Goldman Sachs violated its own Code of Ethics in dealing with clients and public investors. According to the Preamble of the Business Code of Ethics, Goldman Sachs believes the highest standard of integrity should be included as the focal element in a business relationship. Regardless of how perceptive one might be in understanding the investment strategies of Goldman Sachs or even its relationship to the difficulties of the market, it is clear that not all activities were in accordance with the good old-fashioned law of principle and ethics. Background Goldman Sachs history has never been clear of controversy, dating back to its inception in 1829. The Laddering investment strategy closely related to a pyramid scheme would collapse close to 42,000 investors causing over $300 billion in losses (Unknown, 2012). In 1940, it was involved in an antitrust lawsuit and the bankruptcy of Penn Central Railroad in 1970. More recently in 2010, the SEC charged Goldman Sachs with deceitfully selling clients mortgage securities designed by a...
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...Discussion Paper No. 2009/01 The Financial Crisis of 2008 and the Developing Countries Wim Naudé* January 2009 Abstract Following the financial crisis that broke in the US and other Western economies in late 2008, there is now serious concern about its impact on the developing countries. The world media almost daily reports scenarios of gloom and doom, with many predicting a deep global recession. This paper critically discusses this and concludes that as far as the developing countries are concerned, a bit more optimism may be warranted. Although without doubt there are particular countries that will be adversely affected, there will also be countries that may be less affected, may avoid recession, and may recover sooner than expected. Six major reasons for this conclusion are discussed. Without this resilience in the developing world, prospects for the world’s richer countries would be much bleaker. Finally, some options available to the developing countries for minimizing the impact of the crisis are discussed. The crisis accentuates the urgent need for accelerating financial development in developing countries, both through domestic financial deepening, domestic resource mobilization, and reform of the international financial system. Keywords: financial crisis, developing countries, development finance, financial development JEL classification: F34, F35, G14, O16 Copyright © UNU-WIDER 2009 * UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, Finland, email: wim@wider.unu.edu This study has been prepared...
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