Structures

CMBS

Also known as: commercial mortgage-backed securities, commercial MBS

status: draft

Commercial mortgage-backed securities. Securities backed by pools of commercial real estate loans (office, retail, multifamily, industrial, hospitality). Typically structured with multiple tranches and a special servicer for workouts.

What to watch

Property-level cash flows drive performance. DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) is the primary health metric. Office and retail have faced structural headwinds post-2020. Single-asset single-borrower (SASB) deals concentrate risk; conduit deals diversify but dilute your ability to underwrite individual properties. Check special servicer track record for workout-heavy vintages.

Referenced in 34 topics

ABF as an asset class for portfolio construction playbooks Back leverage (provider perspective) capital-sources Back leverage and fund financing playbooks Bank regulatory considerations legal Breaking into ABF playbooks Career paths in ABF playbooks Cash flow modeling accounting-valuation Cell tower and data center ABS (digital infrastructure) asset-classes CMBS (conduit, SASB, large loan) asset-classes Collateral analysis accounting-valuation CRE CLOs asset-classes Finding service providers market-landscape How to benchmark your deal against the market playbooks Industry infrastructure market-landscape Insurance capital capital-sources Insurance-affiliated asset managers capital-sources Investment Company Act exemptions legal Investor and SEC reporting operations-lifecycle Market data and public datasets market-landscape Private placement / bespoke structures structures Risk retention rules legal Selecting and working with trustees playbooks Servicer fundamentals counterparties Servicers and backup servicers counterparties Servicing operations operations-lifecycle Single-family rental (SFR) asset-classes Small business loans (including SBA 7(a)) asset-classes Structuring for non-US investors legal Structuring for tax-exempt investors legal Tax classifications explained legal Trustees counterparties Understanding back leverage (LP perspective) playbooks Volcker Rule implications legal Whole business securitization asset-classes