Spooner's relative speculates in toxic assets (3,5)
I believe the answer is:
bad debts
'assets' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to property as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bad debts that I've seen before include "Uncollectible loans or favours" , "Moneys loaned but not recoverable" , "'They're unlikely to be repaid (3,5)'" , "Moneys loaned but irrecoverable" , "Loans unlikely to be repaid" .)