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Lehman crisis hits Primus

Primus Guaranty, the Bermuda based parent company of the first standalone credit derivatives product company (CDPC), had its counterparty credit rating of BBB+ placed on rating watch negative by Standard and Poor's on September 17.

    • Radi Khasawneh
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The move came as Primus Financial Products, the AAA rated CDPC, revealed it had extensive portfolio exposure to Lehman Brothers. Lehman was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15.

That exposure is primarily in the form of insured single-name credit default swaps (CDSs) referencing the bank's debt. The notional value of the swaps in the portfolio is $80 million, which Primus has assigned a recovery value of 30-35% based on early market indications, according to a release by the company on September 15.

"Net losses on this single position will significantly hurt Guaranty's quarterly and year-to-date economic results," said S&P in the ratings announcement.

In addition, the company is exposed to Lehman through CDSs it has sold directly to the bank, which it estimated had a market value of $56 million as of September 12.

See also:

CDPCs under pressure

The CDPC brigade

The balancing act

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