Thank goodness banks are not required to apply mark-to-market accounting to their loan portfolio. There was some talk of that possibility a few years ago but fortunately the idea died. As slow as lending is now, it would be much slower if banks were required to mark their loans to market value.
Think about the current lending environment. Interest rates are at their rock bottom. We are in a situation where rates can only go up. A rising rate environment diminishes the book value of a loan. A loan paying 6 percent might be worth . . .
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