SAULNIER, R. J. Urban Mortgage Lending by Life Insurance Companies. Pp. xxi, 180. New York: The National Bureau of Economic Research, 1950. $2.50
| Author | James C. Dolley |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271625127400174 |
| Published date | 01 March 1951 |
| Date | 01 March 1951 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
243
out
of
existence
are
several
brands
spon-
sored
by
the
trust
or
its
successor
&dquo;ol-
igarchy,&dquo;
and
promoted
by
various
meth-
ods.
Analysis
of
a
few
failures
would
have
provided
a
better
basis
for
appraising
the
methods
of the
successes.
The
physical
problems
of
the
industry
are
handled
realistically;
the
mental
prob-
lems
less
so.
Limiting
the
scope
of
the
study
to
America
compels
the
author
to
compare
the
present
system
to
hypothet-
ical
systems,
when
a
more
realistic
com-
parison
could
be
made
with
actual
systems
in
other
countries.
The
author’s
treatment
of
profits
is
realistic
but
misleading.
Comparing
the
profit
percentage
of
the
leading
firms
with
the
average
of
all
American
industries,
he
concludes
that
they
&dquo;have
in
fact
secured
monopoly
profits.&dquo;
To
be
consistent,
he
should
have
made
similar
comparisons
of
prices
and
percentages
of
marketing
costs.
The
latter
comparison
might
shed
some
light
on
his
recommendation
of
&dquo;a
direct
maximum
limit
to
total
advertising
ex-
penditures
allowed
any
firm.&dquo;
This
has
strong
sentimental
appeal,
but
ignores
the
fact
that
advertising
is
only
one
of
several
marketing
forces.
The
available
evidence
does
not
indicate
that
diverting
funds
from
the
more
efficient
machinery
to
the
less
efficient
would
reduce
waste
or
lessen
the
competitive
advantage
of
the
large
com-
panies.
GEORGE
BURTON
HOTCHKISS
New
York
University
SAULNIER,
R. J.
Urban
Mortgage
Lending
by
Life
Insurance Companies.
Pp.
xxi,
180.
New
York:
The
National
Bureau
of
Economic
Research,
1950.
$2.50.
This
analysis
of
urban
mortgage
lending
by
life
insurance
companies
is
one
of
a
group
of
related
studies
which
comprise
the
Urban
Real
Estate
Finance
Project
of
the
Financial
Research
Program
of
the
Na-
tional
Bureau
of
Economic
Research.
The
present
study
is
descriptive,
presenting
a
detailed
statistical
analysis
of
the
urban
mortgage
lending
activities
of
life
insurance
companies
in
the
United
States
covering
the
period
1920-48.
Some
of
the
data
pre-
sented
were
compiled
from
public
records,
but
the
bulk
of
the
statistical
information
was
provided
by
the
life
insurance
com-
panies
themselves
via the
medium
of
questionnaires
and
schedules.
Without
the
rather
remarkable
co-operation
of
these
companies,
the
study
would
not
have
been
possible,
and
it
is
the
availability
of
these
data
which
renders
the
analysis
unique
and
of
exceptional
value.
. The
book
comprises
six
chapters
and
an
extensive
appendix.
The
next
chapters
which
are
liberally
interspersed
with
tables
and
charts
deal
with
the
following
topics
in
secfuence:
the
importance
of
life
insur-
ance
company
lending
in
the
urban
mort-
gage
field,
both
from
the
viewpoint
of
total
credit
extended
and
of
earned
asset
dis-
tribution
of
the
life
insurance
companies;
the
legal
limitations
imposed
on
life
insur-
ance
company
mortgage
lending;
the
or-
ganization
of
the
mortgage
loan
depart-
ments
of
life
insurance
companies;
the
types
of
urban
mortgage
loans
made
by
life
insurance
companies
since
1920
and
the
composition
of
their
mortgage
portfolios
in
1946;
urban
mortgage
lending
costs
and
net
returns
realized
by
life
insurance
com-
panies
for
the
period
1945-47;
and
the
mban
mortgage
loan
experience
of
life
in-
surance
companies
during
the
period
1920-
46.
Space
limitations
prevent
any
attempt
at
summarizing
the
many
conclusions
yielded
by
analysis
of
the
data.
Suffice
it
to
say
that
in
the
opinion
of
this
reviewer,
the
most
significant
portion
of
the
study
is
presented
in
the
last
two
chapters
dealing
with
lending
costs
and
mortgage
loan
ex-
perience.
The
fifth
chapter
presents
a
mass
of
data
as
to
gross
income
ratios,
finders
fees,
service
fees,
and
administrative
costs
reflecting
the
urban
mortgage
lending
ex-
perience
of
a
large
sample
of
life
insurance
companies.
In
chapter
six,
data
are
pre-
sented
as
to
foreclosure
rates,
gains
and
losses
on
foreclosed
properties,
and
ex-
pected
yields,
realized
yields,
and
loss
rates
on
urban
mortgage
lending.
The
analysis.
apparently
warrants
the
conclusions
that,
of
an
average
gross
income
rate
of
4
per
cent
realized
in
1947,
almost
1
per
cent
was
absorbed
in
operating
costs,
and
that
loss
reserves
should
be
accumulated
at
a
rate
of
not
less
than %
per
cent
on
loans
To continue reading
Request your trial