'Covered Bonds beyond Pfandbriefe'

Question: Where can you read a USD $270 (€190) book on covered bonds—yes, it's really that expensive—for free?

Answer: Google Books (see link at the bottom of this piece).

The book is Covered Bonds beyond Pfandbriefe, edited by Jonathan Golin. The publisher (Euromoney) presumably hopes that if enough readers take a test drive online, at least some will decide to order the physical book on Amazon.com.

Is it worth the price?

Jonathan GolinIf a book filled with margin notes, yellow highlighting, and dog-eared post-it notes is a sign of valuable content, then my old personal copy is certainly a testament to its value. (I managed to obtain it some time ago for a "bargain" price that was still in triple digits.)

As editor, Jonathan Golin has brought together key perspectives spanning a wide range of covered bond topics, from issuer and investor perspectives to detailed profiles of covered bond structures and markets in individual countries across Europe and beyond. The chapters are all written by experts—thought leaders and practitioners from banks, investment houses, academia, and rating agencies.

Although the financial markets have changed considerably since the book was published in 2006, much of the ground covered is still extremely relevant. You can supplement and update your understanding through a different volume, European Covered Bond Fact Book 2008, which can be downloaded for free from the European Covered Bond Council. I highly recommend both books to anyone seeking to expand their understanding of the depth and breadth of the covered bond markets.

To look at Covered Bonds beyond Pfandbriefe on Google Books, click on the link below:

http://books.google.com/books?id=NcvD2ZALRb4C&pg=PP1&dq=covered+bonds&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=0