The pass-through rate is the coupon rate of interest promised by the issuer of a mortgage-backedsecurity to the investors. In most instances, the pass-through rate is:

a. Equal to the average rate of interest on all mortgages in the underlying pool

b. Lower than the average rate of interest onmortgages in the underlying mortgage pool

c. Higher than the highest rate of interest on any mortgage in the underlying mortgage pool

d. None of the above