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The effect of mortgage securitization on foreclosure and modification

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  • Kruger, Samuel

Abstract

Did securitization exacerbate the foreclosure crisis by altering mortgage servicing practices? I exploit the unanticipated freeze of private mortgage securitization in 2007 to provide new evidence that securitization increases foreclosure probability and decreases modification probability. These effects are economically large and persist over time even after implementation of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in 2009. Using hand-collected data on the contractual terms of servicing agreements, I show that servicers typically have broad discretion to modify loans but face significant incentives favoring foreclosure. The evidence implies that securitization significantly increased foreclosure rates during and after the crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Kruger, Samuel, 2018. "The effect of mortgage securitization on foreclosure and modification," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 586-607.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:129:y:2018:i:3:p:586-607
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.01.008
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    Cited by:

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    2. Piskorski, Tomasz & Seru, Amit, 2021. "Debt relief and slow recovery: A decade after Lehman," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(3), pages 1036-1059.
    3. Andreas Fuster & David Lucca & James Vickery, 2023. "Mortgage-backed securities," Chapters, in: Refet S. Gürkaynak & Jonathan H. Wright (ed.), Research Handbook of Financial Markets, chapter 15, pages 331-357, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Lee, Jonathan & Nguyen, Duc Duy & Nguyen, Huyen, 2024. "Regulating zombie mortgages," IWH Discussion Papers 16/2024, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    5. Jason Allen & Robert Clark & Shaoteng Li & Nicolas Vincent, 2022. "Debt‐relief programs and money left on the table: Evidence from Canada's response to COVID‐19," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 9-53, February.
    6. Yilin Huang & Taylor D. Nadauld, 2019. "A Direct Test of Agency Theories of Debt: Evidence from Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(4), pages 1792-1809, April.
    7. Michelle Bergmann, 2020. "The Determinants of Mortgage Defaults in Australia – Evidence for the Double-trigger Hypothesis," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2020-03, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    8. Segura, Anatoli & Zeng, Jing, 2020. "Off-balance sheet funding, voluntary support and investment efficiency," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 90-107.
    9. You Suk Kim & Donghoon Lee & Tess C. Scharlemann & James Vickery, 2022. "Intermediation Frictions in Debt Relief: Evidence from CARES Act Forbearance," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2022-017, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    10. Fishback, Price & Fleitas, Sebastian & Rose, Jonathan & Snowden, Ken, 2020. "Collateral Damage: The Impact of Foreclosures on New Home Mortgage Lending in the 1930s," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(3), pages 853-885, September.
    11. Korgaonkar, Sanket, 2023. "The agency costs of tranching: Evidence from RMBS," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    12. Saengchote, Kanis & Samphantharak, Krislert, 2022. "Banking relationship and default priority in consumer credit: Evidence from Thai microdata," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    13. Eric Higgins & Abdullah Yavas & Shuang Zhu, 2022. "Private mortgage securitization and loss given default," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1334-1359, September.
    14. Hibbeln, Martin & Osterkamp, Werner, 2024. "The Impact of Risk Retention on Moral Hazard in the Securitization Market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    15. Stephen L. Ross & Yuan Wang, 2022. "Mortgage Lenders and the Geographic Concentration of Foreclosures," Working Papers 2022-001, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    16. Kuong, John Chi-Fong & Zeng, Jing, 2021. "Securitization and optimal foreclosure," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    17. Stephanie Moulton & Yung Chun & Stephanie Casey Pierce & Roberto Quercia & Sarah Riley & Holly Holtzen, 2022. "Does Temporary Mortgage Assistance for Unemployed Homeowners Reduce Longer‐Term Mortgage Default? An Analysis of the Hardest Hit Fund Program," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(2), pages 515-551, March.
    18. Sumit Agarwal & Slava Mikhed & Barry Scholnick & Man Zhang, 2022. "Reducing Strategic Default in a Financial Crisis," Working Papers 21-36, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    19. Kim, You Suk & Lee, Donghoon & Scharlemann, Tess & Vickery, James, 2024. "Intermediation frictions in debt relief: Evidence from CARES Act forbearance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    20. Xu, Minhong & Xu, Yilan, 2023. "Do non-damaging earthquakes shake mortgage lenders' risk perception?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    21. Samuel Kruger & Gonzalo Maturana, 2021. "Collateral Misreporting in the Residential Mortgage-Backed Security Market," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(5), pages 2729-2750, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreclosure; Loan modification; Mortgage securitization; Mortgage servicing; Financial crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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