In the US, mortgage-backed bonds are imploding, causing losses estimated at well over $100 billion, and raising worries about the viability of the US economy as a whole. That’s much more than a sneeze. But in Latin America, the market in mortgage-backed bonds continues to go from strength to strength.
In July, for instance, Colombia’s Titularizadora priced $192 million-worth of mortgage-backed bonds, denominated in Colombian pesos, at a yield of 10.14%, and with a final maturity of as long as 15 years.
In Mexico, the news was even more impressive: state-owned mortgage lender Infonavit placed $250...
