CDOs are a bit trickier. If the issuing company held onto the lowest tranche then they were required to hold the debt and assets on-balance sheet and it was ess

CDOs are a bit trickier. If the issuing company held onto the lowest tranche then they were required to hold the debt and assets on-balance sheet and it was essentially a form of financing like any other. If they sold all the tranches, then they could keep the issuing fees and push all the debt and assets off-balance sheet. There usually was no recourse to the company for off-balance sheet CDOs, but there were some complicated and obscure exceptions.