Securitization is the process of combining various financial assets, such as mortgages, car loans, and credit card debt, into securities that are sold to investors. This is done through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that purchases the assets from their originator and repackages them into new securities backed by those assets. Mortgage-backed securities are a common example, where mortgages are pooled, divided into tiers of risk, and sold as securities. SPVs play an important role by isolating risk, allowing assets to be securitized without affecting the originator, and providing bankruptcy protection for investors.