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Complexity in Structured Finance

Author

Listed:
  • Andra C Ghent
  • Walter N Torous
  • Rossen I Valkanov

Abstract

We study complexity in the market for securitized products, a market at the heart of the financial crisis of 2007–9. The complexity of these products rose substantially in the years preceding the financial crisis. We find that securities in more complex deals default more and have lower realized returns. The worse performance is economically meaningful: a one standard deviation increase in complexity represents an 18% increase in default on AAA securities. However, yields of more complex securities are not higher indicating that investors did not perceive them as riskier. Our results are consistent with complexity obfuscating security quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Andra C Ghent & Walter N Torous & Rossen I Valkanov, 2019. "Complexity in Structured Finance," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(2), pages 694-722.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:86:y:2019:i:2:p:694-722.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdx071
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sharma, Tripti & French, Declan & McKillop, Donal, 2022. "The UK equity release market: Views from the regulatory authorities, product providers and advisors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Vink, Dennis & Nawas, Mike & van Breemen, Vivian, 2021. "Security design and credit rating risk in the CLO market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Asriyan, Vladimir & Foarta, Dana & Vanasco, Victoria, 2018. "Strategic Complexity When Seeking Approval," Research Papers 3615, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    4. Daniel Stein & Jeremy Tobacman, 2016. "Weather Insurance Savings Accounts," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 41(4), pages 677-700, October.
    5. Marc Arnold & Dustin Schuette & Alexander Wagner, 2021. "Neglected Risk in Financial Innovation: Evidence from Structured Product Counterparty Exposure," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 27(2), pages 287-325, March.
    6. Zhang, Ailian & Wang, Shuyao & Lien, Donald & Yu, Chia-Feng (Jeffrey), 2023. "Are banks rewarded for financial consumer protection? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    7. Doron Sonsino & Yaron Lahav & Yefim Roth, 2022. "Reaching for Returns in Retail Structured Investment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(1), pages 466-486, January.
    8. Limbach, Peter & Rau, P. Raghavendra & Schürmann, Henrik, 2020. "The Death of Trust Across the U.S. Finance Industry," CFR Working Papers 20-05, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR), revised 2020.
    9. Basu, Anup K. & Dulleck, Uwe, 2020. "Why do (some) consumers purchase complex financial products? An experimental study on investment in hybrid securities," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 203-220.
    10. Avis Devine & Andrew Sanderford & Chongyu Wang, 2024. "Sustainability and Private Equity Real Estate Returns," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 68(2), pages 161-187, February.
    11. Vokata, Petra, 2021. "Engineering lemons," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 737-755.
    12. Vladimir Asriyan & Dana Foarta & Victoria Vanasco, 2023. "The Good, the Bad, and the Complex: Product Design with Imperfect Information," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 187-226, May.
    13. Jess N. Cornaggia & Kimberly J. Cornaggia & Ryan D. Israelsen, 2020. "Where the Heart Is: Information Production and the Home Bias," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(12), pages 5532-5557, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Complexity; Security design; MBS performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage

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