Special Purpose Vehicle/Entity - SPV/SPE(Legal Vehicle)

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/spv.asp#axzz1mu3uA8yQ
Definition of 'Special Purpose Vehicle/Entity - SPV/SPE'
1. Also referred to as a "bankruptcy-remote entity" whose operations are limited to the acquisition and financing of specific assets. The SPV is usually a subsidiary company with an asset/liability structure and legal status that makes its obligations secure even if the parent company goes bankrupt.

2. A subsidiary corporation designed to serve as a counterparty for swaps and other credit sensitive derivative instruments. Also called a "derivatives product company."

Investopedia explains 'Special Purpose Vehicle/Entity - SPV/SPE'
Thanks to Enron, SPVs/SPEs are household words. These entities aren't all bad though. They were originally (and still are) used to isolate financial risk.

A corporation can use such a vehicle to finance a large project without putting the entire firm at risk. Problem is, due to accounting loopholes, these vehicles became a way for CFOs to hide debt. Essentially, it looks like the company doesn't have a liability when they really do. As we saw with the Enron bankruptcy, if things go wrong, the results can be devastating.

 

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Special Purpose Entities，简称SPE。在证券行业，SPE指特殊目的实体、特殊目的的载体也称为特殊目的机构，其职能是购买、包装证券化资产和以此为基础发行资产化证券，是指接受发起人的资产组合，并发行以此为支持的证券的特殊实体。

　　SPE的原始概念来自于中国墙（China Wall）的风险隔离设计，它的设计主要为了达到“破产隔离”的目的。

　　SPE的业务范围被严格地限定，所以它是一般不会破产的高信用等级实体。SPE在资产证券化中具有特殊的地位，它是整个资产证券化过程的核心，各个参与者都将围绕着它来展开工作。

SPE有特殊目的公司(Special Purpose Company，SPC)和特殊目的信托（Special Purpose Trust, SPT）两种主要表现形式。

　　一般来说，SPE没有注册资本的要求，一般也没有固定的员工或者办公场所，SPE的所有职能都预先安排外派给其他专业机构。SPE必须保证独立和破产隔离。SPE 设立时，通常由慈善机构或无关联的机构拥有，这样SPE会按照既定的法律条文来操作，不至于产生利益冲突而偏袒一方。SPE的资产和负债基本完全相等，其剩余价值基本可以不计。

　　SPE可以是一个法人实体。SPE可以是一个空壳公司。SPE同时也可以是拥有国家信用的中介。