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ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

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Figure 6-3<br />

Subprime Mortgage Originations, 2003–2016<br />

Percent of Total Originations<br />

16<br />

14<br />

12<br />

10<br />

8<br />

6<br />

Originations<br />

with Credit<br />

Score Less Than<br />

620<br />

4<br />

2<br />

2016:Q3<br />

0<br />

2003 2005 2007<br />

Note: Shading denotes recession.<br />

2009 2011 2013 2015 2017<br />

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel; Equifax.<br />

financial institutions coupled with a tangle of interconnections among<br />

financial institutions caused credit markets to seize up. Trading in many<br />

securities ground to a halt, the S&P 500 stock market index lost more than<br />

half its value between early December 2007 and March 2009, and as the<br />

financial collapse disrupted the functioning of the real economy, the nation<br />

plunged into a deep recession.<br />

There were many signs of potential instability in financial markets<br />

in the years leading up to the crisis. As shown in Figure 6-3, the fraction of<br />

mortgages that were subprime rose rapidly in the years directly preceding<br />

the financial crisis. This was accompanied by widespread reports of egregious<br />

and predatory lending practices. Easy access to credit contributed to a<br />

near doubling of housing prices in the eight years ending in February 2007<br />

(see Figure 6-4). The rise in housing finance activity resulted in a dramatic<br />

increase in household mortgage debt as a percentage of disposable personal<br />

income, as shown in Figure 6-5.<br />

There were also warning signs within the financial services sector.<br />

The relatively less regulated shadow banking sector was growing considerably<br />

faster than the traditional banking sector. Shadow banks are financial<br />

intermediaries that conduct maturity, credit, and liquidity transformation<br />

without explicit access to central bank liquidity or public sector credit<br />

guarantees. Examples of shadow banks include finance companies, assetbacked<br />

commercial paper (ABCP) conduits, structured investment vehicles<br />

364 | Chapter 6

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