What is 'balloon risk' in a commercial mortgage?

Correct answer: The risk that the borrower cannot refinance the lump sum principal due at maturity.

Explanation

Balloon risk is a specific type of extension risk in CMBS, as the loan term may need to be extended if refinancing fails.

Other questions

Question 1

What is the primary benefit of the securitization process for the economy and financial markets?

Question 2

In a securitization transaction, which entity is responsible for collecting payments from borrowers and handling delinquencies?

Question 3

Which feature best describes a 'bankruptcy remote' entity in the context of asset-backed securities?

Question 4

In a structure with time tranching, how are principal repayments typically distributed?

Question 5

A senior/subordinated structure in an asset-backed security is primarily used to redistribute which type of risk?

Question 6

Which ratio is calculated as the loan amount divided by the value of the collateral property?

Question 7

What is the primary characteristic of a nonrecourse mortgage loan?

Question 8

Which of the following is considered an agency RMBS issuer backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government?

Question 9

Why is the pass-through rate on a mortgage pass-through security typically lower than the weighted average coupon (WAC) of the underlying loans?

Question 10

What is 'contraction risk' in the context of mortgage-backed securities?

Question 11

If a mortgage pool's Conditional Prepayment Rate (CPR) is expected to match the PSA standard benchmark, the PSA is said to be:

Question 12

Which statement best describes the Single Monthly Mortality (SMM) rate?

Question 13

In a sequential pay CMO with two tranches (Tranche A and Tranche B), which tranche has the greatest contraction risk?

Question 14

What is the primary purpose of a Planned Amortization Class (PAC) tranche in a CMO?

Question 15

Which CMO tranche absorbs prepayment risk in excess of the PAC collar?

Question 16

If a CMO's prepayment speed falls outside the initial PAC collar, the PAC tranche is referred to as:

Question 17

Internal credit enhancement for non-agency RMBS includes which of the following?

Question 18

The 'shifting interest mechanism' in a senior/subordinated structure is designed to:

Question 19

Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans are typically:

Question 20

Which ratio is used to assess the credit risk of a commercial property by comparing net operating income to debt service?

Question 21

Which CMBS call protection mechanism involves replacing the mortgage collateral with a portfolio of government securities?

Question 23

Auto loan ABS are typically backed by which type of assets?

Question 24

During the lockout period of a credit card ABS, principal payments made by cardholders are:

Question 25

Which entity manages the portfolio of debt obligations in a Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO)?

Question 26

What distinguishes a covered bond from a standard asset-backed security?

Question 27

In a CDO structure, the tranche that absorbs the first losses is called the:

Question 28

Structured finance CDOs are collateralized by which assets?

Question 29

If a mortgage has a balloon payment equal to the original loan principal, it is best described as:

Question 30

The risk that principal repayments will be slower than expected is known as:

Question 31

Which of the following is a motivation for issuing a Collateralized Mortgage Obligation (CMO)?

Question 32

In a CMBS, what is the 'equity tranche' often referred to as?

Question 33

A 'hard-bullet' covered bond is defined as:

Question 34

Which of the following describes 'structural subordination'?

Question 35

What is the weighted average maturity (WAM) of a mortgage pool?

Question 36

A 'strategic default' occurs when:

Question 37

In a credit card ABS, what happens if an 'early amortization' trigger is hit?

Question 38

Synthetic CDOs differ from cash CDOs because the collateral consists of:

Question 39

For a lender, a loan with a lower Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio generally implies:

Question 40

A mortgage that allows the borrower to switch from a fixed rate to an adjustable rate is called:

Question 41

In a waterfall structure, the 'first-loss' piece is typically held by:

Question 42

A 'prime' mortgage loan is characterized by:

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of securitization?

Question 44

A 100 PSA prepayment speed implies that the prepayment rate (CPR):

Question 45

Which of the following creates a 'flow' of funds to the different tranches in a securitization?

Question 46

Generally, as the Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio increases, the probability of default:

Question 47

In a credit card ABS, the interest rate paid to investors is:

Question 48

A Collateralized Bond Obligation (CBO) is a type of CDO backed primarily by:

Question 49

Which form of CMBS call protection requires the borrower to pay a penalty equal to the present value of lost interest cash flows?

Question 50

The 'average life' of a mortgage-backed security will likely decrease when: