Nancy E. Wallace 
Professor and Chair of the Real Estate Group | Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets | Co-Chair, Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics | Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES
Spotlight
Areas of Expertise (6)
About
Nancy Wallace is the the Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets at Berkeley Haas. She serves as chair of the Real Estate Group and co-chair of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics. Wallace is an expert in mortgages, mortgage-related securities, and other real estate topics.
Education (3)
The University of Michigan: PhD, Urban and Regional Planning
The University of Paris VIII, Institute of Urbanism: License, Maitrisse
The University of Michigan: BA, Political Science
Links (2)
Honors & Awards (3)
UC Berkeley Faculty Service Award
Feb 2019
Bestowed by the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate on faculty whose “outstanding and dedicated service to the campus, and whose activities as a faculty member have significantly enhanced the quality of the campus as an educational institution and community of scholars.”
Earl F. Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award, Haas School
2002, 2005
Bloom Award, American Real Estate and Urban Economics
2010
Selected External Service & Affiliations (7)
- The Federal Reserve System, Model Validation Council, (6/2013 – present)
- Financial Research Advisory Committee, Office of Financial Research, U.S. Treasury, (2012 –present)
- Committee on Academic Planning and Resource Allocation, CAPRA (2012 – 2013; Co-Chair 2013 – 2014)
- University of California Office of the President, Task Force on Investments and Retirement, At-large member. (2013 – 2014).
- Board of Directors and past president, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association
- Visiting Scholar: San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stockholm School of Economics
- Editorial Board: Journal of Computational Finance, Journal of Real Estate Research
Positions Held (1)
At Haas since 1986
2001 – present, Co-Chair, Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics
2000 – present, Professor of Real Estate, Haas School of Business
1993 – 2000, Associate Professor in Real Estate, Haas School of Business
1986 – 1993, Assistant Professor in Real Estate, Haas School of Business
Spring 1997, Visiting Associate Professor in Finance, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Media Appearances (15)
How the algorithms running your life are biased
Washington Post online
2019-09-09
Algorithms hidden in software programs often carry the biases of their creators. In a factsheet about how algorithms work, the article cites research by Professors Nancy Wallace, the Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets, and Richard Stanton, Kingsford Capital Management Chair in Business, and Assoc. Prof Adair Morse that found that while algorithmic lending systems are less discriminatory than face-to-face interaction, they still tend to charge higher interest rates to Latin and African-American borrowers.
Bad, biased, and unethical uses of AI
The Enterprisers Project online
2019-08-29
Looking at cases of unethical uses of AI can help managers avoid pitfalls. One such case was studied by Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse, Soloman P. Lee Chair in Business Ethics; Prof. Nancy Wallace, the Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets; and Prof. Richard Stanton, Kingsford Capital Management Chair in Business. In looking at online housing lenders, they found that even if the people writing the algorithms intended to create neutral systems, they've ended up discriminating against minority borrowers.
Can algorithms be racist? Trump’s housing department says no
Reveal online
2019-08-05
A new rule would would make it nearly impossible for banks, landlords, or insurance companies to be sued when their algorithms result in people of color being disproportionately denied housing. But algorithms aren't necessarily unbiased. Research by Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse, Prof. Nancy Wallace, and Prof. Richard Stanton has found that online lenders habitually charged borrowers of color higher interest rates than white borrowers with similar credit profiles.
Knowing the “Value” of Our Data Won’t Fix Our Privacy Problems
Electronic Frontier Foundation online
2019-07-15
Policies have been proposed that would put a dollar value on the data that companies collect from users. But that's not enough to protect consumers. For example, research by Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse, Prof. Richard Stanton, Kingsford Capital Management Chair in Business, and Prof. Nancy Wallace, Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets, has found that data on potential borrowers was used to discriminate against non-white customers by online mortgage firms.
Berkeley Haas’s Morse: FinTech Also Practices Housing Discrimination
Poets and Quants online
2019-05-06
Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse of the Haas Finance Group, Prof. Richard Stanton, Kingsford Capital Management Chair in Business, and Prof. Nancy Wallace, Professor and Chair of the Real Estate Group, found that fintech lenders who use algorithms to determine mortgages are just as bad as traditional mortgage operations in discriminating against African American and Hispanic loan-seekers.
Digital mortgages are here, but some buyers are hesitant to use them. Here's what you should know.
Chicago Tribune online
2019-01-23
Algorithmic bias has replaced human bias in lending, according to research by Prof. Nancy Wallace, Prof. Richard Stanton, and Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse.
Women can benefit more from stock options study reveals
Wealth Professional Canada online
2019-01-10
Work by Prof. Nancy Wallace and Prof. Richard Stanton has found that options awarded to women cost companies 2 percent-4 percent more than those given to men. Senior managers also cost more than lower-ranking colleagues. The difference comes from how long the employees hold them.
Women Hold Onto Stock Options Longer—and Reap the Benefits
Fortune online
2019-01-08
Women hold onto their stock options longer than men—which can mean employers pay out more, according to work by Prof. Nancy Wallace and Prof. Richard Stanton. “It means women employees cost more,” Wallace said.
Non-bank firms are now big players in America’s mortgage market
The Economist online
2018-11-29
As interest rates rise and the housing market stutters, regulators are again pondering the risks from the mortgage market—this time from a shift towards non-bank originators. A recent paper by Professors Nancy Wallace and Richard Stanton warned of the risks posed by non-bank US mortgage lenders, who now represent a large percent of all real estate loans. When banks stopped lending during the financial crisis, the number of mortgage companies fell by half, and non-bank lenders stepped in. Little is known about the finances of these private lenders, and their finances may be fragile.
Online lending hasn't removed discrimination, study shows
CNBC online
2018-11-27
A study by Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse, Prof. Richard Stanton, and Prof. Nancy Wallace, found that both online and face-to-face lenders charge higher interest rates to black and Latino borrowers.
How some algorithm lending programs discriminate against minorities
NPR Morning Edition radio
2018-11-24
Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary discusses work by Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse, Prof. Richard Stanton, and Prof. Nancy Wallace, that found a bias in lending: for people with similar qualifications applying for home loans, race did play a factor.
A little oil, a little Brexit and some puppets
Marketplace radio
2018-11-16
Work by Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse, Prof. Richard Stanton, Kingsford Capital Management Chair in Business, and Prof. Nancy Wallace, Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets, has found that there's bias in lending: for people with similar qualifications applying for home loans, race did play a factor.
Even machines are discriminating against black and Latino homebuyers
Washington Post online
2018-11-15
Research by Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse, Prof. Richard Stanton, Kingsford Capital Management Chair in Business, and Prof. Nancy Wallace, Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets, has found that even with automation, mortgage bias exists.
Are you a minority borrower? You might want to think twice about using an online lender.
Washington Post online
2018-11-14
It’s not just bank loan officers with racial biases who discriminate against black and Latino borrowers. Computer algorithms do, too. That's the groundbreaking conclusion of Berkeley Haas researchers who found that both online and face-to-face lenders make 11% to 17% higher profits off black and Latino borrowers. The study was co-authored by Assoc. Prof. Adair Morse, Prof. Richard Stanton, and Prof. Nancy Wallace of Haas, along with Prof. Robert Bartlett of Berkeley Law.
Non-bank lenders are back and even bigger than before
Washington Post online
2018-09-21
Lines of credit for non-bank lenders could be revoked if the firms providing the credit become concerned about the lenders’ financial health. And without credit, many lenders could be forced out of business. “If there is this shock, they’re much more likely to fail as firms because they’re much more exposed to the risks,” said Nancy E. Wallace, Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets.
Selected Papers & Publications (8)
Jennifer N. Carpenter, Richard Stanton, Nancy Wallace
December 2018
Richard Stanton, Nancy Wallace
2017
Nancy Wallace, Stefan Gissler, Jeremy Oldfather, and Doriana Ruffino
2016
Nancy Wallace, Johan Walden, and Richard Stanton
2014
Ashok Bardhan, Dwight Jaffee, Cynthia Kroll, Nancy Wallace
2014
Nancy Wallace, John Patrick Hunt, Richard Stanton
2013
Nancy Wallace, John Patrick Hunt, Richard Stanton
2012
John Patrick Hunt, Richard Stanton, Nancy Wallace
2012
Teaching (5)
Real Estate Finance
EMBA 283
Real Estate Investment Analysis
MBA 280
Real Estate Strategy
MBA 284
Real Estate Investment Analysis and Urban Economics
MBA 180
Asset-backed Securization
MFE 230M