Session 15: Fixed Income: Structured Securities Reading 57: Valuing Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities
LOS c: Describe path dependency in passthrough securities and the implications for valuation models.
Which of the following statements regarding a mortgage-backed security (MBS) is TRUE?
A) |
Backward induction methodology is useful for valuing MBS. | |
B) |
Path dependency means that MBS prices tend to follow a trend. | |
C) |
Binomial models should not be used for MBS because of path dependency. | |
In a MBS, whether a mortgage is called depends on the path of previous interest rates. If rates had been low previously, then mortgages are less likely to be called later on. Thus a binomial model that uses backward induction methodology (later outcomes are determined first) should not be used to value MBS. |