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Was the U.S. Crisis a Financial Black-Hole?

Author

Listed:
  • Romain Rancière

    (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Aaron Tornell

    (UCLA - University of California [Los Angeles] - UC - University of California)

Abstract

This paper argues that the U.S. financial crisis is a new type of crisis: a "financial black hole." Financial black-holes are characterized by the breaking-up of credit market discipline and the large-scale financing of negative net present value projects. In a theoretical model, the paper explains how the interaction of perceived government guarantees and the ability to issue catastrophe-bond-like liabilities generates financial black-holes. The paper then shows that key facts of the recent U.S. crisis can simultaneously be rationalized by the financial black hole equilibrium: Between 2003 and 2006, the origination of catastrophe-loan type mortgages exploded, as well as the issuance of 'Private Label' mortgage-backed securities that helped off-load them into the market. During the same period, there was a massive increase in the origination of mortgages to borrowers with limited repayment ability, absent a continuous increase in home prices. While this situation should have led to an upward repricing of the risk associated with Private Label MBS, the contrary occurred and the spread on these securities actually declined. While each of these facts in isolation can be interpreted differently, the strength of the financial black-hole explanation is its ability to account for the combination of these key facts.

Suggested Citation

  • Romain Rancière & Aaron Tornell, 2011. "Was the U.S. Crisis a Financial Black-Hole?," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-00754534, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-00754534
    DOI: 10.1057/imfer.2011.6
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    Cited by:

    1. Brož, Václav & Kočenda, Evžen, 2022. "Mortgage-related bank penalties and systemic risk among U.S. banks," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).

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