The volume of collateralized debt obligations has ramped up so rapidly in recent years that the level of expertise needed to transact business in these products competently is very uneven. Experts often disagree on the basic terminology. Both of these related problems are linked to a third problem - opportunities for fraud. Tavakoli addresses this market's growing pains in this book.



Tavakoli tackles terminology at the very beginning and objects to the lazy practice of using the term "arbitrage" to refer to any hedged position that has made money such as referring to a long bond position being "arbitraged" by a short sale. A true arbitrage is a risk-free profit opportunity. Arbitrage language in the CDO context helps parties hide from themselves the fluctuating nature of the profit (and loss) conditions that they actually face. This is also true of "delta" hedging.



This is a recurring theme in this book: Participants first need to get the words right in order to get the concepts right, and they have to do both in order to get the numbers right. Another example is the "dual currency swap." A borrower receives one currency, pays coupons in another currency and has a final exchange of principal in a third currency. "Borrowers often perform this swap when they want to lower their all-in borrowing costs by taking on more currency risk," Ms. Tavakoli explains.



But the term "dual currency swap" also is used quite broadly for transactions in which fixed-rate bonds denominated in one currency simply are swapped for floating-rate bonds denominated in another. Ms. Tavakoli suggests that her readers should not assume that market professionals know the correct terminology. "Ask for the cash flow structure in writing, so you can determine the cash flows to see if they are consistent with the terminology as you understand it."



Tavakoli introduces a valuable distinction between timing and frequency, both terms important to the clear understanding of the cash flow that a contemplated transaction will produce. "It is not sufficient to state that I will get all of my cash back within the year," Ms. Tavakoli writes, explaining the distinction. "This is merely the timing of my ultimate receipt of cash flows. I want to know the frequency. Will I receive the cash flow in one lump sum toward the year-end, in equal monthly payments, or in a varied stream of payments over the course of the year? I'm not indifferent. This is why I emphasize timing and frequency."



This is an intriguing book. The market in collateralized debt obligations is complicated, subject to a miasma of human frailties. Hedge funds have entered this market in droves, particularly the synthetic market, and banks curry their favor as customers and competitors. As Tavakoli points out "find ways to become comfortable with alternative investors ... because this customer base is a key consumer of leveraged risk. They do not have the same regulatory capital constraints as banks."

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