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Financial Weapons Of Mass Destruction Are Back
The twin powers of bank funding that helped propel the nation into turmoil have regained ground swiftly, and analysts say it's both a challenge for regulators and a sign that the economy is recovering. Securitization, or the channels through which banks repackage loans and farm them off to investors, has hit volume of $225.6 billion by way of 365 deals this year, according to Dealogic. That's a 14 percent increase over 2012 but still miles away from the heady days of 2007, which saw a staggering $777 billion in volume at the same point—right before securitization, and the rest of the mortgage market, came crashing ... (full story)