Appeared on February 19, 2007
Also last week, new questions arose in Washington about mortgage bond investors' willingness to continue funding the subprime sector to the extent that it has in recent years. At a conference organized by the Hudson Institute, two mortgage securities market experts-Joseph R. Mason, an economics professor at Drexel University, and Joshua Rosner, managing director of hedge fund adviser Graham Fisher & Co.-said the relaxation of lending standards during the housing boom years has led to a rising tide of subprime borrower delinquencies, and could send investors scurrying to the exit door, especially if home values also decline.