Mortgage REITs, which use short-term debt to buy longer-term mortgage securities, also are at the greatest risk if interest rates rise because that would increase their short-term borrowing costs and cut the value of the mortgage bonds that they hold, possibly resulting in losses and reduced dividends.

WSJ: REIT Returns Up but Trail Broader Market

Hard-to-sell long-term securities had been bought with short-lived debt, which left borrowers vulnerable to a change in sentiment every time the debt fell due.

ECONOMIST: Risk and the new financial order

Green Tree Financial found itself in a life-threatening credit squeeze because the market had lost faith in its mortgage-backed securities and refused to refinance its short-term debt.

FORBES: Bank of America's $40 Billion Lesson