INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MARKET

International Capital Market

Financial Crisis 2007-2009



International Capital Market

Financial Crisis 2007-2009

The greatest contributor to the 2007-2009 global financial crisis has been the house mortgage With the Nation in recession, lower interest rates provoke the American population to buy and refinance homes across the country. On the other hand, there may be more mortgage payment default (foreclosures) due to the economic misfortune some people encounter. Much attention has been turned to the housing domain.

Over 67% of Americans own their homes. Housing has always been an important sector in the US economy. In 2000, the housing sector as a whole contributed $1.2 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product, or 12.1% of the U.S. economy. Home ownership creates jobs and national wealth not only at the moment a house is built, but also through the time the house is placed on the market, to the time the new owner furnishes and remodels it following the purchase. In 2000, housing construction generated 3.5 million full-time jobs, $113.8 billion in wages and salaries, and $60.9 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues and fees in the US. In 2000, owners of newly built single-family homes spent an additional $5.9 billion on furnishing, decorating and improving their houses in the U.S. (Amita Shah, Pg. 10)

Buying a house is the largest purchase and investment in most Americans lives. And for most people, buying a house behooves them to get a mortgage to finance the purchase. The mortgage rate moves together with the long-term bond rates. The interest rate an individual borrower gets also depends on the borrower's credit record, income, the ratio of loan amount to the value of the house, etc. How the United States' housing finance system works is not as lucid as most think, it is a system that involves a lot of different financial institutions and financial instruments that help route investors' funds into the purchase market and obtain additional funds for mortgage lending. It is a system where risks in mortgage lending and mortgage investment are passed on, shared, and managed. (Topel, R.H., and S.Rosen 2008 Pp. 740)

The housing finance system consists of three markets: the primary mortgage market, the secondary mortgage market, and the capital market. In the primary mortgage market, mortgages are created and funds are loaned directly to borrowers. In the secondary mortgage market, lenders and investors buy and sell existing mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities (MBS). In the capital market, investors buy and sell long-term investment vehicles such as mortgages, MBS, stocks, and bonds. Put simply, the capital market is Wall Street. By investing in mortgages and MBS, capital market investors help increase the flow of funds available for mortgage lending. (Dicks M.J. 2009 Pp.49)

Borrowers in the primary mortgage market are homebuyers. Lenders in the primary mortgage market are mortgage companies, credit unions, life insurance companies, commercial banks, pension funds, and thrifts. The purposes of the lenders include origination, sale, and servicing of the loan. Mortgages are created when a homebuyer receives funds from a ...