Complexity in Structured Finance

Ghent, Andra C.; Torous, Walter N.; Valkanov, Rossen I.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2325835

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Complexity in Structured Finance

68 Pages Posted: 15 Sep 2013 Last revised: 5 Nov 2017

See all articles by Andra C. Ghent

Andra C. Ghent

University of Utah - David Eccles School of Business

Rossen I. Valkanov

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Rady School of Management

Date Written: November 2, 2017

Abstract

We study complexity in the market for securitized products, a market at the heart of the financial crisis of 2007-2009. 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.

Keywords: Complexity, Security Design, MBS Performance

JEL Classification: G12, G14, G21, G24

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Ghent, Andra C. and Torous, Walter N. and Valkanov, Rossen, Complexity in Structured Finance (November 2, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2325835 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2325835