Which of the following is the best definition of contraction risk? The adverse consequences of:
|
A) |
lower prepayment rates. | |
|
B) |
expected prepayment rates. | |
|
C) |
declining interest rates on passthrough securities. | |
A decrease in interest rates will give borrowers an incentive to prepay the loan and refinance the debt at a lower rate. Therefore, the maturity of the passthrough will contract. The second adverse consequence is that the cash flows resulting from prepayments have to be reinvested at a lower interest rate. |