Briefing
It's a Wonderful Loan: A Short History of Building and Loan Associations
Price, David A.; Walter, John R. (2019-01)
Prior to the advent of modern home mortgage markets in the United States, markets in which mortgage-backed securities and government-sponsored enterprises now play significant roles, prospective homebuyers had to rely on other mechanisms of home finance. For about a century, cooperative organizations known as building and loan associations, a concept imported from Britain, served millions of American savers and homebuyers.
Richmond Fed Economic Brief , Issue January

Journal Article
Private Efforts for Affordable Mortgage Lending Before Fannie and Freddie
Price, David A.; Walter, John R. (2016-10)
Prior to government interventions in the U.S. mortgage market during the 1930s, private institutions arose to improve the efficiency of the market and produce more affordable mortgage products. These institutions included mortgage companies that made significant use of mortgage securitization, building and loan associations, and life insurance company mortgage operations. These developments allowed for the creation of geographically more diversified mortgage portfolios while working to address the difficulties of maintaining effective oversight of local lending agents. They may be suggestive ...
Economic Quarterly , Issue Q4 , Pages 321-351