“But while CMBS buyers are investing in the primary mortgages tied to the nation's skyscrapers, strip malls and apartment buildings, CDO investors are typically buying the riskier debt that developers borrowed to finance these pricey real-estate deals. These kinds of loans could include mezzanine debt -- which bridges the gap between the deposit a buyer puts into a project and the mortgage -- and so-called B-notes, the lower-grade slices of debt in a first mortgage.”
—Christine Haughney, “Real-Estate Bonds Gain Popularity,” The Wall Street Journal, 19 Apr 06, p. B9.
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