Housing Finance: Development and Evolution in Mortgage Markets

摘要

This overview of the structure of residential mortgage financing outlines the workings of mortgage markets, explains the broad patterns of development of institutions taking part in those markets, and provides a brief sketch of the major institutional actors and the functions they perform. The five functions for which - mortgage markets are structured are explained: origination, servicing, investment, transformation, and insurance. The mortgage market is traced from the Federal Government interventions in the 1930's, the development of the secondary market, and the development of mortgage - backed securities pools, to the recent shifts - in mortgage financing resulting from inflation and high interest rates. The functions and nature of the following 11 major institutional lender groups are described: commercial banks, mutual savings banks, savings and loan associations, life insurance companies, private pension funds, public pension funds, real estate investment trusts, mortgage bankers, Federal credit agencies and related agencies, and mortgage pools. Data tables and a list of 10 readings are supplied.