Một phiên bản cập nhật của một tác phẩm đột phá về cuộc khủng hoảng tài chính toàn cầu từ một quan điểm postfordist. | 34 The Cost OF Capitalism Recall that when Hanna boarded the bus for Phoenix she had handed her house to her bank. The bank at that moment had a house that it could sell for 538 000. But it loaned Hanna 588 000. Thus the bank lost 50 000 on the deal. Banks are in the business of borrowing money from some and lending to others. The value of what they owe their liabilities is always supposed to be lower than the value of what is owed to them their assets. When they subtract their liabilities from their assets the remainder is their equity. The problem for banks arises if the banks have lots of Hannalike loans in their portfolio. As the pie charts in Figure make clear that is exactly what happened. In 2001 nearly 60 percent of mortgage borrowers looked like Hal and less than 10 percent were involved in risky finance. By 2006 fully one-third of home buyers opted for risky mortgage products. Moreover a large number of homeowners with no moving plans decided that Hanna had the right strategy. If we combine refinancing with risky home buying finance we discover that by 2006 nearly half of the housing-related financing was done with risky loans. When the bank forecloses it replaces one asset with another. The loan to Hanna is replaced by the house since the loan has gone bust and the bank now owns the home. But the loan was for 588 000 and the house is worth 538 000. If lots of home loans go the way of Hanna s loan then the total value of the bank s assets falls below the total value of its loans to other people its liabilities. When a bank s liabilities are larger than its assets it is bankrupt. When banks and investors in those banks simultaneously discover that bank assets are worth much less than previously thought we have hit the Minsky moment. At that juncture if we force banks to The ABCs of Risky Finance 35 Risky Finance in Mortgages Figure Home Equity Source Inside Mortgage Finance by dollar amount 2007 data is as of December 31 2007 revalue their assets .
