Credit default swaps

CDS spreads tighten as bailout is revised

The cost of protection on some of the world’s largest financial institutions fell yesterday as the US Senate agreed to vote on a revised version of the $700 billion financial rescue plan.

O Brothers, where art thou?

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, coming on the back of the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, sent market participants rushing to compute their exposures and replace affected hedges. How did the market bear up? By Peter Madigan and Nick…

CDS spreads continue to tighten

Credit default swap (CDS) spreads on financial institutions had tightened further by close of play on September 19, as market confidence continued to rise after large injections of cash from central banks

CDS spreads continue to widen

Credit default swap (CDS) spreads on financial institutions have continued to widen, despite the bailout of US insurer American International Group (AIG) by the US Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday.

Fannie and Freddie CDS to settle at October auction

The auction process to settle credit default swap (CDS) contracts written against Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will take place in the first week of October, Risk has learned, although losses on the agreements are likely to be minor for most counterparties.

Risk reallocation

The originate-and-distribute model offered a means for banks to offload credit risk from their balance sheets and distribute it to investors. But Andrew Haldane and Lewis Webber of the Bank of England argue this risk was often passed on to those least…

Finance and banking dominate April US CDS trading

The banking and financial services sectors dominated trading volumes of credit default swaps (CDS) in the US in April, according to GFI, a New York-based interdealer broker. The most actively traded names were Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers and…

JP Morgan CDS exposure could top $10 trillion

JP Morgan’s proposed acquisition of Bear Stearns could push the bank’s already formidable footprint in the credit default swaps (CDS) market through the $10 trillion notional barrier, raising questions over the prudence of such large concentrations…

Nightmare on North St

Amid countless other subprime-related lawsuits, a showdown is currently taking place between HSH Nordbank and UBS over a stricken collateralised debt obligation, named North Street. The case raises questions about practices employed at banks and across…