The Subprime Virus

The story of the Great Recession cannot be told without understanding how abuses in a once obscure corner of the home mortgage industry—the subprime market—led to the near collapse of the world’s financial system. That's why we're excited to be hosting Kathleen Engel at an event tomorrow. Along with Patricia McCoy, she is the author of The Subprime Virus: Reckless Credit, Regulatory Failure, and Next Steps. The book offers a detailed account of how the world of mortgage finance shook the American and global economies to their core. Kathleen Engel is Associate Dean for Intellectual Life and Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School and a nationally recognized expert on mortgage finance and regulation and Patricia McCoy recently joined the CFPB to help run the team on mortgage markets, so these are top notch people and The Subprime Virus is an excellent book.

The timing of the book and this event remains critical, While some elements of the economy are stabilized, much work remains in determining the future of housing policy and consumer finance. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a work in progress, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has yet to stand up on its own, and the debate over how to fix the housing finance system has yet to begin in earnest. What direction will policy-makers, regulators and markets take? How can they best respond to the changing landscape? What lessons from the past are most critical to realizing a more stable, prosperous, and just future?

Raphael Bostic, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a key contributor to the Obama administration’s housing and community development policy efforts will also join us and comment on Professor Engel's remarks.

Please join us, either in person or via the webcast on Wednesday, March 16th from 12:15 pm to 1:45 pm.