Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• COLLATERALIZED OBLIGATION
  
  Is the generic term for a structure that carves up the initial cash flow from a similar set of assets into a new and often unique arrangement. By dividing and redistributing the cash flows, both principal and interest, the structure alters the disbursement of the underlying collateral cash flows into several securities. Some of these securities may experience greater stability whereas others may absorb more of the risky characteristics of the underlying assets. Under various circumstances, these structures can improve the credit rating of some of the deal's components. Specific categories of these structures are Collateralized Bond Obligations, Collateralized Loan Obligations, and Collateralized Mortgage Obligations.
  
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