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Complexity and Loan Performance: Evidence from the Securitization of Commercial Mortgages

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  • Craig H. Furfine

Abstract

Between 2001 and 2007, the complexity of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) increased substantially. The median size of commercial mortgage loan pools tripled and the median number of AAA-rated tranches doubled. I examine whether deal complexity is related to loan performance by analyzing a sample of approximately 40,000 commercial mortgage loans from 334 CMBS deals. I find that loan performance is worse for loans in more complex securitizations. However, neither the price of a deal’s securities nor a deal’s risk retention reflected that complexity correlates with lower loan quality. These findings present a challenge for theories of optimal security design.

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  • Craig H. Furfine, 2014. "Complexity and Loan Performance: Evidence from the Securitization of Commercial Mortgages," Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 154-187.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rcorpf:v:2:y:2014:i:2:p:154-187.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Dennis Vink & Mike Nawas & Vivian van Breemen, 2019. "Security design and credit rating risk in the CLO market," DNB Working Papers 643, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    2. Deku, Solomon Y. & Kara, Alper & Marqués-Ibáñez, David, 2019. "Do reputable issuers provide better-quality securitizations?," Working Paper Series 2236, European Central Bank.
    3. Manuel Adelino & Kristopher S. Gerardi & Barney Hartman-Glaser, 2016. "Are Lemons Sold First? Dynamic Signaling in the Mortgage Market," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2016-8, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    4. José María Liberti & Mitchell A. Petersen, 2018. "Information: Hard and Soft," NBER Working Papers 25075, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Adelino, Manuel & Gerardi, Kristopher & Hartman-Glaser, Barney, 2019. "Are lemons sold first? Dynamic signaling in the mortgage market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(1), pages 1-25.

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