Saving And Loan Crisis

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21 Aug, 2024

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The Savings and Loan Crisis was a period of distress in the 1980s where the collapse of many savings and loans (S&L) associations led to financial turmoil. They were the leading sources of institutional finance, and hence it was one of the major financial difficulties after the Great Depression.

The origin of the S&L crisis began with the introduction of federal deposit insurance in 1934. The plan was weak initially, as all the S&Ls were charged the same insurance premiums. In contrast, the riskiest S&Ls should have been charged more. Mounting inflationary pressures, among other reasons, marked the beginning of an impending financial crisis.

Saving And Loan Crisis Definition

The Savings and Loan Crisis was a period of distress in the 1980s, when the savings and loans (S&L) associations, which were the leading sources of institutional finance, endured a collapse. It was one of the major financial difficulties after the Great Depression.
The S&L institutions were state-chartered and gave out mortgage loans, financing them through passbook savings deposits.
One can trace its roots back to the 1929–1933 stock market crash and the banking collapse that followed it.
Two different types of macroeconomic impacts resulted from the crisis: fiscal policy effects and supply effects.

Saving And Loan Crisis Explained

The savings and loan crisis occurred as a result of the collapse of S&L associations in the 1980s that led to a period of financial distress. The savings and loan crisis history goes back to the 1929–1933 stock market crash and the banking crash that followed. Numerous commercial banks and savings and loan associations failed and became insolvent. The state-chartered S&L institutions gave out mortgage loans, financing them through passbook savings deposits.

The 1930s saw the emergence of the strictly regulated savings and loan sector, limited to providing fixed-rate, long-term residential mortgages. They received payment with passbook savings deposits that had federal insurance. Savings and loans generated money from the difference between the higher long-term interest rates charged on mortgage loans and the low short-term interest rates paid on deposits as long as interest rates remained steady, fell, or gradually increased.

The macroeconomic environment was favorable; interest rates were stable or steadily rising during the initial period. Few savings and loans struggled to generate sufficient profits and maintain financial stability. Thus, the industry didn't present many issues to the federal and state regulators regarding safety and soundness. However, around 1964–1965, the situation began to change.

Increased federal spending was a necessity due to the United States' deeper involvement in the Vietnam War, although there was no corresponding rise in federal revenues. Interest rates started to rise due to the development of inflationary forces. The government implemented measures like the Interest Rate Control Act and limited the savings and loan interest rates that these institutions could offer to their depositors.

This fix held up for about a decade, allowing savings and loans to pay interest rates below market rates and preventing the financial crunch that would have otherwise happened. The measure was successful partly because inflationary pressures receded and because there were few viable alternatives for savings and loan depositors that provided liquidity and safety but at market interest rates.

When inflationary pressures started to build up again in the late 1970s, interest rates rose quickly and reached double digits. A rapid increase in the price of crude oil was the primary reason behind the US savings and loan crisis. Regulations no longer shielded the savings and loan sector since better options for depositors, notably money market mutual funds (MMMFs), were available.

Timeline

Given below is a short recap of events of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s:

1966-1979

Market rates fluctuated, and S&L experienced rising difficulties with rising interest rates. S&Ls could not offer competitive interest rates on consumer deposits due to interest rate limits.
As a result, whenever market interest rates increase, consumers withdraw substantial sums of money to invest in products that provide better rates of return.
S&Ls were vulnerable due to disintermediation (the deposit withdrawal process) and reintermediation (the deposit influx that happens when interest rates are high). The S&Ls became mere acceptance and deposit of money, and money market funds became a competition.
It was in 1973 that it gave the same powers for S&Ls as banks, including checking accounts. Interest rate insurance was also recommended if they were mainly involved in housing finance.
1978-1978 saw the passing of the Financial Institutions Regulatory and Interest Rate Control Act. It enabled S&Ls to spend up to 5% of their assets on construction, education, and land development loans.
Oil prices doubled in 1979. For the second time in five years, inflation had reached double digits.

1980–82

The government approved measures to increase S&L profits. This included the enactment of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (DIDMCA). The law aimed to remove many disparities between various categories of depository institutions and, in the end, eliminate interest rate limits on deposit accounts.
Expanded acquisition, development, and construction (ADC).
The deposit insurance threshold increased from $40,000 to $100,000.
The Federal Home Loan Bank Board lowered the insured S&Ls' net worth threshold from 5% to 4% of total deposits.
The passing of the 1981 Tax Reform Act provided strong tax advantages for private real estate investment. This legislation contributed to the real estate boom.
The Federal Home Loan Bank Board permitted S&Ls to allow income capital certificates (as capital). This move made it possible for the certificates to make an institution appear solvent even when not.

1982-85

The Federal Home Loan Bank Board reduced the net worth threshold for insured S&Ls to 3% of total deposits from 4%. Furthermore, rather than using the even more lenient regulatory accounting principles (RAP), S&Ls could satisfy the low net worth criteria.
The minimal number of S&L stockholders became no longer subject to restrictions by the Bank Board. The ability for buyers to use real estate as collateral instead of cash simplified the process of buying S&Ls.
The Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 was later enacted. Federally chartered S&Ls were given all the authority they needed to carry out their existing missions while also being able to diversify their operations and boost revenues.
Many S&Ls regained health due to lower market interest rates. However, 35% of institutions continue to experience losses. According to GAAP, 9% of all S&Ls were bankrupt in 1983.
S&L failures in Maryland ultimately resulted in a $185 million loss to the state's deposit insurance fund and taxpayers. State deposit insurance funds were killed by the S&L failures in Maryland and Ohio (1985).
In 1985, the Bank Board gave S&L examiners the authority to classify dubious loans and other assets to demand loan loss reserves.

The Bank Board gradually eliminated the remaining lenient RAP accounting norms in 1987. S&Ls, like banks, became subject to GAAP accounting standards.

The Competitive Equality Banking Act was enacted in 1987. The Act permitted the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) to be recapitalized and contained measures for preventing S&L closures.

1988

The Bank Board announced the Southwest Plan to the group and sold Texas S&Ls that were bankrupt to the highest bidder. The goal was to address insolvencies while promptly preserving the limited funds for FSLIC.

The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement (FIRREA) Act was passed. Soon after, the FSLIC and Federal Home Loan Bank Board were eliminated by FIRREA. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) then performed the job of deposit insurance. To settle the insolvent S&Ls, a new organization called the Resolution Trust Corporation was established to take care of insolvent S&Ls.

Causes

Three outside factors subsequently worsened this risky position, ultimately worsening the issue. It was anticipated that the price of crude oil would climb much further in the early 1980s after it had already increased significantly in the late 1970s. With the expectation that oil prices would rise, many commercial real estate projects in the Southwest began with funding by savings and loans. This expectation led to the creation of high incomes and wealth for business owners and employees in oil-related industries in the Southwest and increased demand for the hotels, offices, and other facilities of these projects.

Contrary to these predictions, however, oil prices peaked in 1981, began to decline steadily over the following few years, and then abruptly dropped in 1986. The lower price of oil reduced many real estate projects' profitability and value, which caused significant losses for the projects' owners as well as the savings and loans who got the financing.

Second, commercial real estate became a tax-favored investment sector due to provisions in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. In the following years, much commercial real estate was planned and financed, assuming that this tax preference would persist. However, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 took a different direction, reducing commercial real estate tax benefits and introducing stricter requirements retrospectively to profits from investments made before 1986. The 1986 revisions again reduced many investments' profitability and value, resulting in losses for the investors' owners and lenders.

Third, in 1983, the FHLBB relocated its regional enforcement office from Little Rock to Dallas, serving a few states: Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas and New Mexico. Although there were good reasons for the move, the timing ended badly. For around two vital years (during which the industry was experiencing a rapid expansion), not enough staff followed the office when it relocated, substantially impairing the district's ability to enforce safety-and-soundness regulations.

Effects

Two different types of macroeconomic impacts of such a financial crisis: fiscal policy effects and supply effects.

Supply effects directly result from the capital loss caused by the thrift crisis itself. Fiscal policy effects result from the substantial liabilities for deposit insurance that develop under the federal government's deposit insurance program. They arise from direct losses in capital that arose due to misguided investment projects. These reduce the supply of outputs and the potential Gross National Product (GNP). Deposit insurance liabilities on total demand affect the short-term GNP. They also have a long-term effect by changing the national saving rate.

Similarly, there are effects on fiscal policy. During the period, institutions became insolvent, giving rise to federal liabilities (under deposit insurance). As a result of federal commitments to pay, these liabilities often last for years. In general, the economic impacts of these pledge accruals are comparable to those of more traditional expansionary policies. Protecting depositors' money can prevent overall demand from declining, while raising demand will cause interest rates to rise in credit markets. In addition, when federal liabilities expand, savings and capital accumulation decline, slowing long-term economic growth.

Measures To Control

The Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control (DIDMCA) Act and the Garn-St Germain Act brought in anticipated control measures. Initially, Adjusted-Rate Mortgages (ARMs) were allowed to be created by savings and loans. Second, they could diversify (to a limited extent) into other types of consumer lending and direct ownership of commercial real estate and other business loans.

Unfortunately, the measures to control the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s were not effective in three significant ways during the era of deregulatory policies. First, the capital (net worth) criteria for S&Ls were lowered, resulting in a fall in the proportion of savings and loans that would otherwise be ineligible for capital standards. Hence be subject to more stringent regulatory oversight. Second, to enable more savings and loans to present themselves as sound, the accounting framework—which gave authorities important information about an S&L financial position—was undermined. Third, there were fewer supervisors and examiners on the ground.

Over time, with its increased investment authority, enhanced deposit-gathering capabilities, and relaxed safe and sound regulations, the savings and loan industry experienced rapid growth between 1983 and 1985. By the end of 1985, the industry had grown by 56 percent in assets over the previous three years.

Rapid expansion stressed most businesses and led to mistakes. However, the fast-growing companies in the savings and loan sector, who started this expansion when savings and loans were already under financial pressure, seemed even more prone to poor investment decisions and excessive risk-taking. Additionally, competitive newcomers entered the market after realizing the prospects presented by the increased investment authority and deposit-gathering capacity. These contributed to the financial period of distress.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the significance of the saving and loan crisis?

The U.S. savings and loan crisis taught the country some important lessons, such as the need for strong and effective supervision, bank regulatory agencies being politically independent, and providing regulators with adequate financial resources. The important lesson is to close insolvent, insured financial institutions to prevent financial disasters.

2. Did people lose money in the savings and loan crisis?

S&Ls were losing money due to the mismatch between assets and liabilities and the upward trend in interest rates. Customers and taxpayers were affected. Net S&L income, which amounted to $781 million in 1980, dropped to $4.1 billion in negative earnings in 1982.

3. How many banks failed in the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s?

One thousand six hundred seventeen commercial and savings banks that were FDIC-insured shut down or got financial support from the FDIC. This figure represented 9.14% of all banks that existed at the end of 1979. It is inclusive of all banks that were established during the period.