What is a mezzanine ABS CDO?

Answer

A CDO is a collateralized debt obligation, a security whose principal and interest are repaid by the cash flows generated by a portfolio of assets (usually loans and bonds). The portfolio of assets is the collateral and it is usually in the balance sheet of a separate entity, called special purpose vehicle, which has the CDO as its only liability and the assets in the portfolio as its only assets. ABS CDO is a CDO whose portfolio is comprised of ABS (asset backed securities). A CDO is subject to credit risk, because some of the assets in the portfolio might not generate the expected cash flows (when the underlying credits go into default). Often, the CDO is tranched in tranches of different seniority, which have different priority in absorbing the eventual losses. The equity tranche, the less senior, absorbs the first losses (if there are any). Then comes the mezzanine. Finally come the senior tranches.