Tranche
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In structured finance the word tranche (sometimes traunche) refers to one of several related securitized bonds offered as part of the same deal. The word tranche is French for slice; in the financial sense of the word, each bond is a slice of the deal's risk. The legal documents (see indenture) usually refer to the tranches as "classes" of notes identified by letter (e.g. the Class A, Class B, Class C securities).
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[edit] How Tranching works
All the tranches together make up what is referred to as the deal's capital structure or liability structure. They are generally paid sequentially from the most senior (usually Senior Secured) to most subordinate (generally unsecured), although certain tranches with the same security may be paid pari passu. The more senior rated tranches generally have higher ratings than the lower rated tranches. For example, senior tranches may be rated AAA, AA or A, while a junior, unsecured tranche may be rated BB. However, ratings can fluctuate after the debt is issued and even senior tranches could be rated below investment grade (less than BBB). The deal's indenture (its governing legal document) usually details the payment of the tranches in a section often referred to as the waterfall (because the moneys flow down).
Tranches with a first lien on the assets of the asset pool are referred to as "senior tranches" and are generally safer investments. The natural buyers of these types of securities tend to be conduits, insurance companies, pension funds and other risk averse investors.
Tranches with either a second lien or no lien are often referred to as "junior notes". These are more risky investments because they are not secured by specific assets. The natural buyers of these securities tend to be hedge funds and other investors seeking higher risk/return profiles.
[edit] Example Scenario
- A bank transfers risk in its loan portfolio by entering into a default swap with a "ring-fenced" SPV ("Special Purpose Vehicle")
- The SPV buys gilts (UK government bonds)
- The SPV sells 4 tranches of credit linked notes with a waterfall structure whereby:
- Tranche A absorbs the first 25% of losses on the portfolio
- Tranche B absorbs the next 25% of losses
- Tranche C the next 25%
- Tranche D the final 25%
- Tranches B, C and D are sold to outside investors
- Tranche A is bought by bank itself
[edit] Why is Tranching Useful
Tranches allow for the "ability to create one or more classes of securities whose rating is higher than the average rating of the underlying collateral asset pool or to generate rated securities from a pool of unrated assets".[1] "This is accomplished through the use of credit support specified within the transaction structure to create securities with different risk-return profiles. The equity/first-loss tranche absorbs initial losses, followed by the mezzanine tranches which absorb some additional losses, again followed by more senior tranches. Thus, due to the credit support resulting from tranching, the most senior claims are expected to be insulated - except in particularly adverse circumstances - from default risk of the underlying asset pool through the absorption of losses by the more junior claims."[2]
"Tranching, in turn, contributes to both the complexity and risk properties of structured finance products. Beyond the challenges posed by estimation of the asset pool's loss distribution, tranching requires detailed, deal-specific documentation to ensure that the desired characteristics, such as the seniority ordering the various tranches, will be delivered under all plausible scenarios. In addition, complexity may be further increased by the need to account for the involvement of asset managers and other third parties, whose own incentives to act in the interest of some investor classes at the expense of other may need to be balanced.
[edit] Other effects of Tranching
Tranching can add complexity to deals. With increased complexity, less sophisticated investors have a harder time understanding them and thus are less able to make informed investment decisions.
[edit] Investing in Tranches
"Market information also suggests that the more junior tranches of structured products are often bought by specialist credit investors, while the senior tranches appear to be more attractive for a broader, less specialised investor community".[1]
[edit] Benefits
Tranching can be very helpful in many different circumstances. For those investors that have to invest in highly rated securities, they are able to gain "exposure to asset classes, such as leveraged loans, whose performance across the business cycle may differ from that of other eligible assets."[1] So essentially it allows investors to further diversify their portfolio.
[edit] Risks
One must be very careful investing in structured products. As shown above, tranches from the same offering have different risk, reward, and/or maturity characteristics.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c I. Fender, J. Mitchell "Structured finance: complexity, risk and the use of ratings" BIS Quarterly Review, June 2005
- ^ "The role of ratings in structured finance: issues and implications" Committee on the Global Financial System, January 2005
