Lawrence Lokken (Florida) presents Financial Innovation and Financial Crisis: A Discussion of Innovative Financial Techniques That Have Figured in the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis at SMU today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series.  Here is a summary of the presentation:

This presentation examines the securitization of home mortgages and other types of debt, and the role of securitization in the highly-leveraged financial institutions and entities that came to be at the heart of the 2007-2009 financial crisis. It deals with the mechanics of securitization and the uses of securities produced by securitizations. It addresses questions such as, “Did the government encourage securitization, and if so, why?” and “Why did banks and other financial entities wind up with so many asset-backed securities on their balance sheets?”