RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The Definition of Structured Finance JF The Journal of Structured Finance FD Institutional Investor Journals SP 5 OP 10 DO 10.3905/jsf.2005.598316 VO 11 IS 3 A1 Henry A. Davis YR 2005 UL https://pm-research.com/content/11/3/5.abstract AB This article summarizes a survey of 23 experts on the definition of structured finance. In today's usage, structured finance is a broad term. It can be defined in many ways such as a synthetic transaction that transfers risk; a financing transaction where legal structures are used to isolate asset or entity risk, resulting in decreased risk for the originator; or the monetization of any rights to payments by a party having the legal right to transfer those payments to others. Clearly within the scope of structured finance is securitization, including widely used instruments such as asset-backed securities (ABS), residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). Most respondents would include credit derivatives as well, and most take a broad, inclusive view of structured finance that includes project finance, the use of derivatives, complex leasing transactions, and various other structured risk transfer mechanisms.