Word: cdos
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Almost Shakespearean, no? True, the Bard didn't offer much in the way of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) or special-interest vehicles--two key sources of Citi's pain. He did, however, understand diversification. "My ventures are not in one bottom trusted, nor to one place," said Antonio, the Merchant of Venice. "Therefore, my merchandise makes...
Prince, a lawyer, became Citigroup CEO in 2003 largely on the strength of his skill in resolving these legal hassles. But he led Citi smack into the next big financial scandal: subprime-mortgage lending. Over the past five years, Citi went from also-ran to leading issuer of the CDOs that take subprime mortgages or other loans and reprocess them into purportedly low-risk securities. Market jitters and ratings-agency downgrades have sent CDOs into a free fall--and now the banks have to account for the losses...
...that the foundation is shaking, there are scant buyers for the lower-grade issues built on top of the pooled mortgages, and the values of those CDOs have plummeted. Losses in the subprime market drove Bear Stearns to declare two of its hedge funds, once topping $1.5 billion, all but worthless, and banks as far afield as Germany and France have frozen funds or received bailouts because of exposure to U.S. mortgages...
...further complicate the picture, some firms create new "structured finance" products, called collateralized debt obligations, from pieces of other mortgage securities. These new bonds are re-rated, creating illusion of safety even though the top-rated bonds may include very risky original loans. Last year nearly $500 billion in CDOs flooded the market. Many hedge funds invested heavily in them, often using borrowed money, and thus increasing their exposure. The Contagion...
...core, the entire process is based on using borrowed money (home mortgages) as collateral to borrow more money (mortgage-backed securities) to borrow yet more money (CDOs), and hoping the payment chain doesn't break. Once home-mortgage defaults rise, the whole system can unravel...