路透社: FAQ: 美國抵押市場的麻煩

FAQ: Trouble in the mortgage market
Wed Mar 14 19:35:01 UTC 2007 路透社 Reuters

What is happening in the mortgage market?

The riskiest segment of the U.S. mortgage market, which serves borrowers with poor credit histories at high interest rates, has seen rising default rates in recent months. The Mortgage Bankers Association said lenders began foreclosure against more than one of every 200 U.S. mortgage borrowers in the fourth quarter, a record.

What types of loans are considered 'subprime'?

There are "no doc" loans. That's when you get a loan without giving the lender any documentation about your income. There are also "low doc" loans, or when you get a loan with just a little paperwork about your employment and income. The number of non-traditional loans extended with low or no documentation jumped from 53.9 percent in 2003 to 65.7 percent in 2005, according to First American Loan Performance, which tallies home mortgage data.

How did this crisis come about?

While subprime mortgages have spread credit more widely and helped more people buy their own homes, critics contend a hot real estate market encouraged lenders to get more aggressive and offer increasingly complicated terms that borrowers did not always fully understand. These risks are being exposed as the housing market cools.

What's happening to the lenders ?

At least 20 lenders in the subprime mortgage sector have gone out of business as a result. This week, trading in shares of New Century, the largest independent subprime lender, was suspended by the New York Stock Exchange prior to delisting, and the company received a grand jury subpoena in a federal criminal probe. Countywide Financial Corp, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, reported that delinquencies on subprime loans it serves rose to 19 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 from 15.2 percent a year earlier.

Why is the meltdown among subprime lenders having an impact the whole U.S. stock market?

There is concern that the crisis could spread to more mainstream lenders and worsen the U.S. housing slowdown. Delinquencies often foreshadow future loan failures and those bad credits could damage other mortgage-backed investments held by a wide range of investors. Some economists worry that as house prices fall and lenders tighten credit terms, consumers will curb spending and drag down the U.S. economy.

What are congressional and administration officials in Washington saying?

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass . ), said he plans to introduce legislation to restrict overly risky mortgages.

The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee , Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), said regulators are accountable for problems in the subprime mortgage sector and that he plans to call them before the committee for questioning.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said a decline in U.S. housing activity has caused some damage in subprime mortgage markets but was not hurting the overall economy. "We have had a significant housing correction in the U.S.," he said on Tuesday. "You can't have a correction like that without causing some dislocations. It's too early to tell whether it's bottomed, I believe it has."

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the Democratic chairman of the banking panel's securities subcommittee, said federal regulators should take a closer look at how much the banks they oversee are at risk from investing in subprime loans.

What's the outlook?

Some analysts believe the crisis in the subprime mortgage market could boost the chances of the Federal Reserve cutting its target for benchmark interest rates.

One of the factors driving the poor performance of subprime mortgages has been a series of interest rate increases by the Fed. From 2004 to last summer, benchmark rates rose 4.25 percentage points to 5.25 percent. That has led to a steep rise in payments on adjustable rate mortgages.

"The Fed is aware of the situation, and how raising rates might worsen the situation. " said John Kriz, managing director of real estate finance at Moody's Investors Service, a leading credit ratings agency. "Our view is that it is less likely that rates will rise and more likely they will fall."

But a rate cut may be too little, too late for as many as 1.5 million Americans who could lose their homes in the subprime shakeout, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. The group, which represents hundreds of advocates for low-income housing, wants Congress to step in to aid subprime borrowers.