Project Overview

American Predatory Lending and the Global Financial Crisis is a multi-method interdisciplinary team working under the Bass Connections project within Duke University. Over the past year, this student-faculty undertaking has explored the state-level dynamics leading up to the 2008 Crisis, focusing on experience in North Carolina. The team has conducted oral histories of legislators, banking sector leaders, regulators, and leaders of consumer groups; data analyses that detail the state’s residential mortgage landscape; and policy memos that outline the pattern of state and federal legislation that shaped the lending environment. This website is populated with the products of our collaborative research.

Bass Connections is a university-wide academic program that gives students a chance to apply classroom lessons to complex societal challenges, working alongside faculty from all of Duke’s schools. Named in honor of founding donors Anne and Robert Bass, Bass Connections exemplifies Duke’s commitment to team-based interdisciplinary research.

The Duke Financial Economics Center (DFE) is a leader in the field of financial education, serving hundreds of Duke students each year. DFE leverages Duke University’s renowned liberal arts curriculum and world-class faculty through teaching, research, innovative programming, and alumni engagement. A core objective of the DFE is to empower all Duke undergraduates, regardless of academic focus, to enter finance careers uniquely prepared to succeed.

Acknowledgments

Many people have shaped and influenced both the development and the content of this project— the Bass Connections team would like to thank the many people that have had a stake in it from the start.

Special thanks to Sarah Bloom Raskin, Sara Greene, Emma Rasiel, and Amy Feistel for their consultatory roles.

Many thanks to Will Shaw and Liz Milewicz for extensive support in the process of website creation.

Thanks to Moody’s Analytics and the Mortgage Banker’s Association for providing us with the data necessary for our analyses.