Mortgage-Backed Securities: Products, Structuring, and Analytical Techniques

The guy next to our office was working with AFT/Intex and doing some ABS/MBS modeling. He did some presentation on the subject, but I didn't understood a word he spoke. However, the product looked interesting. So I decided to check it out in this book.I have to say it is presented very nicely. I only read about 3/4th of the book. I have not used the knowledge for anything yet. So I cannot say how much it has helped me. But the topic is clear and well presented.

Very disappointing. Poorly written starting from the first introductory pages. Be aware of most of the positive reviews, which must have been done by friends of the authors (I guess, since they did not review anything else on amazon). Initial section (on mortgages) is okay, but that part you find it on any financial engineering book. Nothing special or new, except that many concepts and logical connections about why things work in a certain way are already missing. The next sections on structuring are terrible: confusing, and poorly organized (it seems the authors "copied" material without being able to explain things.) If I did not know the subject matter already (a) I would not be able to understand what the book says (some of the very simple concepts are made difficult and complicated for no reason) and (b) I would understand things the wrong way (see the sections on Z-bonds, for instance, IOs, or floaters/inverse floaters), which are all a misleading representation of both market reality and underlying structuring math. Out of curiosity I checked "Wikipedia", which, in a few lines, definitely gave better, more precise and understandable definitions than the ones provides in numerous pages in the book. This book is not worth your money. Another example of a "commercial" textbook, backed by a somewhat famous name, but with no real value.

The author has done a great job -- once again. He skillfully explains how securities are structured, valued and sold. Anyone with some basic knowledge of fixed income instruments will go through the book easily and a great deal of pleasure.

Background:I'm a recent college grad (finance) who has passed level 1 of the CFA and sat for level 2. I've been working in securitized products with two others colleagues at a large institutional investment firm for 3-4 months now. Since my colleagues don't have the time or are not always helpful in teaching me (one is chinese), I've bought or rented most of the books on the subject matter and by trial and error whittled down the ones that are most useful for someone working in or new to the industry. I've never written a review, but feel obligated to save others time and money on this one.Review:Don't buy. There are better alternatives and little if any has been updated from previous Fabozzi texts. Berliner (one of the authors) comment on another customers review is wrong. He wrote, [the book] "contains material on evaluating non-agency MBS which has never been published before." This is false. The Handbook of Nonagency Mortgage-Backed Securities was published by Fabozzi in 1997.Better Book Suggestions: Fabozzi's Handbook of MBS is far more useful and detailed, which is evident by the number of pages. It's old (2006), but still way better than wasting time or money on this book.Mortgage Valuation Models (Davidson) - just released so it's up to date and good. It builds on one of the very important chapters the author contributed to Fabozzi's handbook of MBS.Salamon Smith Barney Guide to MBS is good, but VERY dated and all of the chapters available on Citi's online research portal for free if you have access.Fabozzi's Fixed Income Handbook is good reference as well as Fixed Income Mathematics.If you need problems to practice, Mortgage Backed Securities Workbook (Davidson) has some as does another one of his books. Another book also with practice problems and which would be useful if you're new to Bloomberg is Debt Markets and Analysis (Johnson).Whatever you do, don't invest in this book if you work on MBS.

I found this book to be well-written and easy to follow. I’m a huge fan of Fabozzi’s books, in general. I found that the second edition of this book was a great update based on the financial crisis. Speaking of financial crisis, this book was definitely not cheap! However, I genuinely believe it was worth the investment. I recommend this book as a must-read for anyone wanting to gain a strong understanding of mortgage-backed securities.

extremely well written and easy to follow. I have been involved in MBS market for nearly 30 years and still keep this book on my desk as a reference for structures and review of technical information on many products that I am involved in on a daily basis.GREAT BOOK!

The book provides a very complete overview the residential mortgage-backed securities market and is written by two gentlemen that were arguably at "the center of the storm" at Countrywide Securities.The book is structured nicely taking the reader from a general overview of the MBS market to a detailed look of the process of securitization through to investing in the end securities.The chapters dedicated to the structuring and credit enhancement techniques of residential ABS deals a particularly useful to people just entering the current market. The unique perspectives on measuring loan performance and influences on collateral prepayments are also very useful reading.All in all a must read for those beginning in the industry and a great reference for those of us that might have forgotten a few things.

It's good for beginners.

Came in great shape and much cheaper than the bookstore. the Book dives into the creation and effects of MBS ( mortgage backed securities )

Dissertazione molto approfondita sulle tecniche di strutturazione delle ABS. Inintelligibile per i non addetti ai lavori, per i quali invece è raccomandabile a mio avviso.