General Growth Properties

General Growth Properties' 2009 bankruptcy was the largest real estate collapse in U.S. history at $27 billion in assets. The mall REIT had expanded aggressively during the credit boom, financing acquisitions with short-term debt that required refinancing. When credit markets froze in 2008, GGP couldn't roll over its debt despite owning valuable properties. The mechanism failure was debt maturity mismatch—long-term assets financed with short-term debt. GGP's malls generated steady cash flow but debt service required continuous market access. When markets closed, GGP failed regardless of underlying asset quality.