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Mortgage companies and regulatory arbitrage

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  • Demyanyk, Yuliya
  • Loutskina, Elena

Abstract

Mortgage companies (MCs) do not fall under the strict regulatory regime of depository institutions. We empirically show that this gap resulted in regulatory arbitrage and allowed bank holding companies (BHCs) to circumvent consumer compliance regulations, mitigate capital requirements, and reduce exposure to loan-related losses. Compared to bank subsidiaries, MC subsidiaries of BHCs originated riskier mortgages to borrowers with lower credit scores, lower incomes, higher loan-to-income ratios, and higher default rates. Our results imply that precrisis regulations had the capacity to mitigate the deterioration of lending standards if consistently applied and enforced for all types of intermediaries.

Suggested Citation

  • Demyanyk, Yuliya & Loutskina, Elena, 2016. "Mortgage companies and regulatory arbitrage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 328-351.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:122:y:2016:i:2:p:328-351
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.07.003
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    3. Chakraborty, Indraneel & Goldstein, Itay & MacKinlay, Andrew, 2020. "Monetary stimulus and bank lending," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 189-218.
    4. Fulvia Fringuellotti & João A. C. Santos, 2021. "Insurance Companies and the Growth of Corporate Loan Securitization," Liberty Street Economics 20211013, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    5. Chen, Zhongdong & Ebrahim, Alireza, 2018. "Turnover threat and CEO risk-taking behavior in the banking industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 87-105.
    6. Eduardo Dávila & Ansgar Walther, 2021. "Corrective Regulation with Imperfect Instruments," NBER Working Papers 29160, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Eliana Balla & Raymond Brastow & Daniel Edgel & Morgan Rose, 2024. "The Effect of Regulatory Oversight on Nonbank Mortgage Subsidiaries," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 68(3), pages 523-575, April.
    8. Bernhard Kassner, 2023. "Taming Overconfident CEOs Through Stricter Financial Regulation," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 375, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    9. Yang, Liu & van Wijnbergen, S. & Qi, Xiaotong & Yi, Yuhuan, 2019. "Chinese shadow banking, financial regulation and effectiveness of monetary policy," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    10. Martynova, Natalya & Vogel, Ursula, 2022. "Banks’ complexity-risk nexus and the role of regulation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    11. Andreas Fuster & Matthew Plosser & James Vickery, 2018. "Does CFPB Oversight Crimp Credit?," Staff Reports 857, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    12. Claudia M. Buch & Linda S. Goldberg, 2021. "Complexity and Riskiness of Banking Organizations: Evidence from the International Banking Research Network," Staff Reports 966, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    13. Lingxiao Li & Bing Zhu, 2020. "Housing Wealth, Consumption Channels and Mortgage Liberalization," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 23(4), pages 433-465.
    14. Huiyi Zhang & Richard Skolnik & Yue Han & Jinpei Wu, 2020. "The Impacts of China's Shadow Banking Credit Creation on the Effectiveness of Monetary Policy," International Journal of Finance & Banking Studies, Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(4), pages 33-46, October.
    15. Cesa-Bianchi, Ambrogio & Rebucci, Alessandro, 2017. "Does easing monetary policy increase financial instability?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 111-125.
    16. Kang, Jung Koo & Loumioti, Maria & Wittenberg-Moerman, Regina, 2021. "The harmonization of lending standards within banks through mandated loan-level transparency," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    17. Chen, Jiakai, 2022. "Market discipline and regulatory arbitrage: Evidence from ABCP liquidity guarantors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    18. Karapetyan, A. & Kværner, Jens & Rohrer, Maximilian, 2024. "Inefficient regulation: Mortgages versus total credit," Other publications TiSEM f1611bef-5be9-46fc-8a3e-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    19. van der Plaat, Mark, 2020. "Loan sales and the tyranny of tistance in U.S. residential mortgage lending," MPRA Paper 107519, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Apr 2021.
    20. Clark, Brian & Ebrahim, Alireza, 2022. "Risk shifting and regulatory arbitrage: Evidence from operational risk," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    21. Allen N. Berger & Onesime Epouhe & Raluca Roman, 2021. "A Tale of Two Bailouts: Effects of TARP and PPP on Subprime Consumer Debt," Working Papers 21-32, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    22. Pelster, Matthias, 2024. "Leverage constraints and investors' choice of underlyings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    23. Kristian S. Blickle & João A. C. Santos, 2022. "Unintended Consequences of "Mandatory" Flood Insurance," Staff Reports 1012, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    24. Glancy, David, 2021. "Housing bust, bank lending & employment: Evidence from multimarket banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regulation; Banks; Mortgage companies; Mortgages; Financial crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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