Upended by downgrades

The structured credit markets have been suffering as a result of problems arising from the US subprime mortgage crisis. Dealers expected worried investors to start questioning the viability of related collateralised commodity obligations, but they were not prepared for a surprise rating criteria change leading to major downgrades. By John Ferry

risk-1107-27-gif

Barclays Capital knew it was on to something hot when it brought the first collateralised commodity obligation (CCO) to the market in 2004. Yield-hungry, diversification-seeking institutional investors lined up to buy the notes, which combined the structural features of a collateralised debt obligation (CDO) - subordination, tranching and a rating - with exposure to the commodity markets. Other dealers, most notably Credit Suisse, stepped in to offer their own versions of CCOs, and soon what had

Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.

To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe

You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.

Sorry, our subscription options are not loading right now

Please try again later. Get in touch with our customer services team if this issue persists.

New to Risk.net? View our subscription options

Credit risk & modelling – Special report 2021

This Risk special report provides an insight on the challenges facing banks in measuring and mitigating credit risk in the current environment, and the strategies they are deploying to adapt to a more stringent regulatory approach.

The wild world of credit models

The Covid-19 pandemic has induced a kind of schizophrenia in loan-loss models. When the pandemic hit, banks overprovisioned for credit losses on the assumption that the economy would head south. But when government stimulus packages put wads of cash in…

Most read articles loading...

You need to sign in to use this feature. If you don’t have a Risk.net account, please register for a trial.

Sign in
You are currently on corporate access.

To use this feature you will need an individual account. If you have one already please sign in.

Sign in.

Alternatively you can request an individual account here