Um estudo acerca da crise do Subprime: a natureza da crise e a ação do Federal Reserve

Abstract

The present study proposes an analysis of the Subprime crisis. The main objectives were to investigate and explain the crisis based on the theory of asymmetric information, as well as to examine the Federal Reserve's response to the unfolding crisis. To achieve this, a theoretical-empirical analysis of the different mechanisms present in various interactions among participants in the financial market was conducted. The securitization of assets as a means of providing liquidity to the market turned out to be one of the main instruments on which the Originate-to-distribute model relied. It was identified that the Originate-to-distribute model was significant for the transfer of risk between financial institutions, with little incentive to properly assess the risks involved. This contributed to financial institutions acting in their own interests and highlighted the principal-agent problem. Furthermore, this work shows that the role of rating agencies and Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) were factors that intensified informational asymmetry. Regarding the Federal Reserve's efforts to contain the economic crisis, it was observed that conventional monetary policies were exhausted to the point where interest rates approached zero, leading the Fed to employ unconventional monetary policy. In summary, Quantitative Easing as an unconventional monetary policy was crucial in maintaining economic stability by providing liquidity to the market, stabilizing employment levels, and preventing further deflation.