ABSTRACT
Two major mortgage markets have not yet been covered: the American commercial mortgage market and non-U.S. markets. Commercial mortgages are very different from residential ones in their underwriting standards, default characteristics, prepayment possibilities, and variety. Only the briefest introduction to this hundreds of billions of dollar market is given here. (It deserves its own book.) This chapter is mainly restricted to defining the key terms and concepts. Outside the U.S. Germany has the most developed mortgage-backed securities market. With the advent of the euro and concomitant minimization of foreign currency risks, and Europeans copying many of the features found in the American MBS markets, this is the most likely place to sojourn outside the U.S. Because information about foreign markets is very scattered and not always in English, the second section of this chapter is intended as a succinct guide through the plethora of foreign mortgage market products.
