Corporate finance analysis: hypothesis and case study examination
The article first states that the "option model" of mortgage default (Elul, Souleles and Chomsisenghept). This model suggests that home owners should only ever default if they have negative equity in their residence. If there is negative equity, then there would be an incentive for the borrower to walk away from the property. However this also does not consider subsidiary effects such as the impact upon the person's credit or the possibility that the property could regain equity in the medium or long term. Furthermore, other researchers have also proposed that other factors such as being illiquid would also provide a motive for someone to default on their mortgage. A combination of these two variables would also act to amplify the incentive to voluntarily default; and of course being so illiquid that there is no possibility to make a mortgage payment virtually guarantees that a default will occur.
Banking Ethics, Foreclosure Fraud, and the 2008 Financial Crisis
This research paper aims to shed light into what led to the global financial collapse that, for the most part, began in the U.S. housing market. Many researchers agree that the primary drivers that led to the real estate crisis was the lifting of the Glass Steagall Act, the fostering of sub-prime lending, and the creation of derivatives and credit default swaps which were used as complex financial instruments. All of these financial tools were justified by the efficient market hypothesis and as a consequence provide evidence for the lack of a truly efficient market. As a result of the financial failures, many banks were either bought, went bankrupt, or had to be bailed out by the federal government because of the overwhelming losses in this industry.