The articles and papers listed here cover aspects of the financial crisis and represent a range of opinions and analysis. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis does not endorse the views presented in these articles or papers.
WHAT'S NEW
Alt-A: The Forgotten Segment of the Mortgage Market
by Rajdeep Sengupta
in Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, January 2010
This study presents a brief overview of the Alt-A mortgage market with the goal of outlining broad trends in the different borrower and mortgage characteristics of Alt-A market originations between 2000 and 2006. The paper also documents the default patterns of Alt-A mortgages in terms of the various borrower and mortgage characteristics over th... [ more ]
Fair Value Accounting: Villain or Innocent Victim? Exploring the Links Between Fair Value Accounting, Bank Regulatory Capital, and the Recent Financial Crisis
by Sanders Shaffer
in Federal Reserve Bank of Boston QAU Working Paper, February 2010
There is a popular belief that the confluence of bank capital rules and fair value accounting helped trigger the recent financial crisis. The claim is that questionable valuations of long term investments based on prices obtained from illiquid markets created a pro-cyclical effect whereby mark to market adjustments reduced regulatory capital forcin... [ more ]
The Federal Reserve’s Commercial Paper Funding Facility
by Tobias Adrian, Karin Kimbrough, and Dina Marchioni
in Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports, January 2010
The Federal Reserve created the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) in the midst of severe disruptions in money markets following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008. The CPFF finances the purchase of highly rated unsecured and asset-backed commercial paper from eligible issuers via primary dealers. The facility is a liquid... [ more ]
Focusing on Bank Interest Rate Risk Exposure
by Donald L. Kohn
in Board of Governors Speech, January 2010
At the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Symposium on Interest Rate Risk Management, Arlington, Virginia
Lessons of the Crisis: The Implications for Regulatory Reform
by William C. Dudley
in Speech, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, January 2010
Remarks at the Partnership for New York City Discussion, New York City.
Monetary Policy and the Housing Bubble
by Ben S. Bernanke
in Board of Governors Speech, January 2010
Speech given at the Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association, Atlanta, Georgia
Monetary Policy in the Crisis: Past, Present, and Future
by Donald L. Kohn
in Board of Governors Speech, January 2010
Speech given at the Brimmer Policy Forum, American Economic Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia
Mortgage Choice and the Pricing of Fixed-Rate and Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
by John Krainer
in Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter, February 2010
In the United States throughout 2009, the share of adjustable-rate mortgages among total mortgage originations was very low, apparently reflecting the attractive pricing of fixed-rate mortgages relative to ARMs. Government policy could have changed the relative attractiveness of the fixed-rate mortgages and ARMs, thereby shifting the market share o... [ more ]
The Public Policy Case for a Role for the Federal Reserve in Bank Supervision and Regulation
by Ben S. Bernanke
in Board of Governors, January 2010
The Board's views on the importance of the Federal Reserve's continued role in bank supervision and regulation. The document discusses (1) how the expertise and information that the Federal Reserve develops in the making of monetary policy enable it to make a unique contribution to an effective regulatory regime, especially in the context of a more... [ more ]
Quantitative Easing—Uncharted Waters for Monetary Policy
by James Bullard
in Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Regional Economist, January 2010
A discussion of the use of quantiative easing in monetary policy
Regulation and Its Discontents
by Kevin Warsh
in Board of Governors Speech, February 2010
At the New York Association for Business Economics, New York, New York
The Role of the Federal Reserve in a New Financial Order
by Paul A. Volcker
in Speech at the Economic Club of New York, January 2010
Paul Volcker's discussion of the role of the Federal Reserve in light of the Financial Crisis.