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Recent research in economic history has found that mortgage debt in relation to GDP has taken off in the historical long run (“great mortgaging”), as growing banking assets have been redirected into mortgage credit. This paper maps the parallel long-run investment history of private (life) insurance as the much overlooked second pillar of the financial system. Drawing on in-depth studies of the US and Germany, it finds that a “great de-mortgaging” took place in insurers’ portfolios, with mortgages falling from up to 90 percent in the 19th century to below 5 percent today in favor of fixed-income securities. A parallel shift to secondary mortgage bonds has hardly offset this decline, while direct real estate remained largely a residual investment class. Banks’ great mortgaging is thus partly an institutional substitution effect. The paper sees insurers’ asset shift itself as mainly driven by long-run changes in capital demand and competition with banks and pension funds. It extends these findings to other long-term institutional investors and other OECD countries in the historical long run.

Hypotheken op bestaande woningen 'improductief' noemen is economisch niet zuiver.

Hypotheken op bestaande woningen 'improductief' noemen is economisch niet zuiver.

Several media reports and studies have shown that for various reasons the proceeds are generally too low. In addition, the need is felt for the use of modern means of communication and a future-proof procedure of sales under execution. Thirdly, over the past years there has been an increase of the number of sales under execution: in 2003 the number was below 1.000, in 2012 the number increased to 2.488. Because of these developments, the question arises whether this legislation still ensures the best possible procedure for a sale under execution, leading to the highest possible net proceeds. This is the central question of Irene Visser’s study, which is the first to systematically examine the entire statutory procedure for sales under execution from a legal point of view. Visser shows several problems in the current legislation to obtain the highest possible net proceeds. For example, the current legislation is insufficiently flexible to make use of new technological developments ánd the current statutory provisions do not always provide the leeway required to arrange the procedure for the specific items on sale. Secondly, the alternative procedure for the public auction (the private sale under execution) needs to be thoroughly changed, in favor of reaching more private bidders. A third example is the need to clearify and better integrate into the property-law system the consequences of the sale under execution for some rights, like the right of tenants. The amendments in the bill containing amendments in the procedure for sales onder execution, submitted to the Dutch House of Representatives on 22 November 2012, are discussed at various points in this study.