Property Derivatives and the Subprime Crisis

The recent real estate bubble was fuelled by non-risk adjusted lending policies, low interest rates and complex finance vehicles. Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) played a crucial role in the crisis. These vehicles were praised as liquid capital market instruments that allowed mortgage lenders to replenish their funds, which could then be used for additional origination activities. However, in some forms, securitized mortgage pools are highly complex and hard to price. It turned out that MBS were not able to deal with the risks of the real estate market appropriately.[...]