Product Description

Praise for Collateralized Debt Obligations & Structured Finance

"Caveat emptor! Never in the history of finance has this warning been more appropriate. With the development of CDOs, credit derivatives, and other esoteric structured finance techniques, market participants–the savvy as well as the novice–are exposed to a bewildering array of new ideas, concepts, and structures. Janet Tavakoli has tackled these subjects in an outstanding mixture of exposition, mathematics, and skepticism. A must-read for anyone who plans to play in these markets."
–Jack Caouette
Vice Chairman, MBIA Insurance Corporation

"A timely and comprehensive survey of the latest developments in structured finance, particularly given the rapid pace of change in the last few years. The author’s depth of knowledge and wide experience are conveyed clearly to the reader. At a time when the industry’s ability to meet the complexities of the differing requirements of market participants is under challenge from both the events of the last cycle and the authorities, the insights offered in this book are especially valuable."
–Mark Hale
Group Strategist, Ansbacher & Co., Ltd.

"Structured finance is central to the continued development of active credit portfolio management. In this book, Tavakoli not only provides an authoritative account of many of the structured finance products employed by portfolio managers, but also addresses, in a forthright manner, a number of the ‘burning issues’ affecting the industry in a post-Enron world."
–John Cross
Global Head, Portfolio Management, Standard Chartered Bank

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #614407 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Review
"Tavakoli&does what she can to address this market's growing pains in&this intriguing book" -- Hedge World

“…Tavakoli uses her broad professional experience to examine the CDO market in simple and clear language.” (Risk, March 2004)

"Tavakoli…does what she can to address this market’s growing pains in…this intriguing book" (Hedge World)

From the Inside Flap
What is a collateralized debt obligation (CDO)? What is securitization? What is a synthetic credit structure? What is an asset-backed security? Ask any market professional and they will all agree that these are structured products, but total agreement usually ends there--mainly because, in a global financial environment, one product may have more than one definition.

To help you keep up with the expanding CDO market and the various elements of structured finance, Collateralized Debt Obligations and Structured Finance digs deep to explain some of the newest areas in structured finance, particularly the CDO market and some of the problems created by its rapid growth.

Collateralized Debt Obligations and Structured Finance provides a state-of-the-art look at the exploding CDO and structured credit products market. Financial expert Janet Tavakoli--author of the widely popular Credit Derivatives and Synthetic Structures--examines a variety of securitization topics never before seen in print, including the huge increase in the CDO arbitrage created by synthetics; the tranches most at risk from this new technology; dumping securitizations on bank balance sheets; the abuse of offshore vehicles by companies such as Enron; and securitizations made possible by new securitization techniques and the introduction of the Euro.

This valuable guide comprehensively covers one of the fastest growing markets on Wall Street, predicting where new bank regulations and other developments may lead to product growth or product extinction. While providing an overview of the market and its dynamic growth, Collateralized Debt Obligations and Structured Finance also explores the types of products offered, hedging techniques, and valuation and risk/return issues associated with investing in CDOs and synthetic CDOs.

Written in a clear and accessible style, this book is a valuable resource that will provide you with critical insights into many areas of this important market sector.

From the Back Cover
Praise for Collateralized Debt Obligations & Structured Finance

"Caveat emptor! Never in the history of finance has this warning been more appropriate. With the development of CDOs, credit derivatives, and other esoteric structured finance techniques, market participants--the savvy as well as the novice--are exposed to a bewildering array of new ideas, concepts, and structures. Janet Tavakoli has tackled these subjects in an outstanding mixture of exposition, mathematics, and skepticism. A must-read for anyone who plans to play in these markets."
--Jack Caouette
Vice Chairman, MBIA Insurance Corporation

"A timely and comprehensive survey of the latest developments in structured finance, particularly given the rapid pace of change in the last few years. The author’s depth of knowledge and wide experience are conveyed clearly to the reader. At a time when the industry’s ability to meet the complexities of the differing requirements of market participants is under challenge from both the events of the last cycle and the authorities, the insights offered in this book are especially valuable."
--Mark Hale
Group Strategist, Ansbacher & Co., Ltd.

"Structured finance is central to the continued development of active credit portfolio management. In this book, Tavakoli not only provides an authoritative account of many of the structured finance products employed by portfolio managers, but also addresses, in a forthright manner, a number of the ‘burning issues’ affecting the industry in a post-Enron world."
--John Cross
Global Head, Portfolio Management, Standard Chartered Bank

Customer Reviews

Magnum Opus
This is a terrific book for anyone, any level of competency that wants to or needs to now about collateralized debt obligations and structured finance; particularly new developments in cash and synthetic securtizations. The author is so insightful and clever in explaining these complicated financial instruments it is almost beyond words; as well as beautiful and articulate. This book would be an excellent stocking stuffer for any financial risk management professional or as an office gift for any support staff or assistants. This magnum opus is an excellent reference book with solid and consistent definitions, descriptions and real world examples. No doubt this financial treatise by Tavakoli will become the textbook of choice for any graduate school developing a curriculum on financial risk management. If it was possible to give this book ten (10) stars, I would.

Fabulous treatment of difficult subject!
This book was exactly what I was looking for--- understanding what the heck credit derivatives are and how they are used. As a recently hired executive assistant to a partner in a large investment banking firm, I needed to quickly learn the jargon of the financial risk management business. This book was just fabo! Good graphs. Simple declarative sentences for easy comprehension.

A Must for Risk Managers
I would highly recommend CDOs and Structured Finance to anyone with a need to understand the theory, mechanics, risks and real world applications of CDOs, securitization, and synthetic credit structures (now I finally understand the difference between the three!). Very thorough and comprehensive yet easy-to-understand read on a growing field.