What Caused Chicago Bank Failures in the Great Depression? A Look at the 1920s
通过追踪1920年代芝加哥州立银行资产负债表的变化，发现1930年代早期倒闭的银行在1920年代投资了更多抵押贷款，其问题在于缺乏流动性而非质量，强调了危机前流动性风险管理的重要性。
This article reassesses the causes of Chicago state bank failures during the Great Depression by tracking the evolution of their balance sheets in the 1920s. I find that all banks suffered tremendous deposit withdrawals; however banks that failed earlier in the 1930s had invested more in mortgages in the 1920s. The main problem with mortgages was their lack of liquidity, not their quality. Banks heavily engaged in mortgages did not have enough liquid assets to face the withdrawals, and failed. This article thus reasserts the importance of pre-crisis liquidity risk management in preventing bank failures.