CMBS Commercial mortgage-backed securities:

These are fixed-income investment products that are backed by mortgages on commercial properties rather than residential real estate. CMBS can provide liquidity to real estate investors and commercial lenders alike. Because there are no rules for standardizing the structures of CMBS, their valuations can be difficult. The underlying securities of CMBS may include a number of commercial mortgages of varying terms, values, and property types�such as multi-family dwellings and commercial real estate. CMBS are similar to collateralized debt obligations (CDO) and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO) in that they are in the form of bonds. The mortgage loans that form a single commercial mortgage-backed security act as the collateral in the event of default, with principal and interest passed on to investors.