Participants in the US securitization market convened at this annual American Securitization Forum (ASF) in Las Vegas on 3-6 February 2008 to discuss the latest legal, regulatory, and market practice developments. Three experts from NERA's Securities and Finance Practice -- Former Senior Vice President Dr. Chudozie Okongwu and Senior Vice President Dr. Faten Sabry and Former Special Consultant Dr. James Jordan -- participated in a session on the role and effects of securitization. Dr. Jordan, Dr. Okongwu, and Dr. Sabry discussed research commissioned by the ASF to evaluate the benefits of securitization and provided an overview of prior academic and other securitization market research. They also discussed the objectives and preliminary indications of the research as well as the further work that is needed.