Credit default swaps
New clearing rules may make CDS prohibitively expensive, traders warn
Buy-side market participants are expecting increased operational costs when new regulation on central clearing of CDS contracts is implemented
Eurex freezes marketing of CDS clearing
Eurex has halted the marketing of its credit default swap (CDS) clearing operation after failing to attract sufficient business, Risk understands.
US municipalities wary of two-way CSAa
Cornered on collateral
A bullish time ahead for Asia
Asia’s rapid growth and buoyant consumer confidence continue, and the region is emerging from the financial crisis as an economic powerhouse. Operational risk managers and regulators alike must keep pace with this bullish market if they want to avoid…
Sovereign CDSs as a risk indicator
Sovereign CDSs as a risk indicator
Updated Isda CDS novation process to boost efficiency while minimising risk
Revised rules replace laborious consent-then-confirm novation process
Confusion reigns over the US Dodd-Frank Act
Section 716 of the Dodd-Frank Act will force swap dealers to hive off certain derivatives businesses into separate affiliates. But the legislation is fiendishly complicated, riddled with oversights and requires daring interpretative leaps, which has left…
Asia Risk 15: Credit derivatives perform vital role but at heavy cost
The emergence of credit risk mitigation techniques has enabled banks to continue lending while easing their concentration risks. But this has come at a heavy cost, as investors in many complex, leveraged synthetic structures discovered following the…
Euro debt crisis prompts questions over collateral
European financial markets have been turned upside down by the sovereign debt crisis, with eurozone government bonds no longer regarded as completely risk-free. As a result, dealers are more wary of the correlation inherent in collateral denominated in…
BP crisis pushes Big Oil further into deep water
As thousands of barrels of oil continue to spill into the Gulf of Mexico, energy giant BP has seen its bond spreads widen to unprecedented levels. What will be the implications for Big Oil, and can investors factor in tail risks of this magnitude?
US regulatory overhaul reaches final stages
Final version of Dodd-Frank financial reform bill tones down most draconian elements.
Eurozone debt fears waning, agencies say
Rising bond prices and falling CDS volumes mean eurozone sovereign debt is past the worst
S&P launches quality ranking indexes and licenses to PowerShares
Standard and Poor's has extended its index range to include quality rankings indexes, one of which has been licensed to Invesco PowerShares, and has added sector indexes in its CDS Index family
CDS lessons from the emerging markets
Eurozone politicians are pushing for a ban on naked sovereign credit default swaps (CDSs) – but the eurozone CDS market is relatively young. In emerging markets, where it has a longer history, CDSs are sometimes the hero, sometimes the villain – and…
Questioning collateral
European financial markets have been turned upside down by the sovereign debt crisis, with eurozone government bonds no longer regarded as completely risk-free. As a result, dealers are more wary of the correlation inherent in collateral denominated in…
Concerns grow on correlation of derivatives collateral
Sovereign debt crisis raises fears about correlation of derivative collateral denominated in domestic currencies
Sovereign debt and CDSs: a collection of articles from Risk.net
The world is watching nervously as sovereign debt is rocked by fiscal and economic crises in the eurozone.
BP oil spill “frightening reminder” of tail risk, say analysts
As oil continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico, analysts have warned there is little investors can do to hedge against the risk of disasters on the scale of the Deepwater Horizon incident.
The risks of tailoring credit default swaps
Credit portfolio managers could tailor credit default swap hedges as financial guarantees to avoid accounting mismatches on their balance sheet. However, the technique exposes credit hedgers to increased costs and basis risk, argues Dirk Schubert
EC proposes tough shorting rules but stalls on CDS ban
Shorting shares and bonds could be restricted or even banned under new EC proposals, but naked credit default swaps are safe for now.
EC accelerates consultation on beefed-up short-selling proposals
Under pressure from member states, the EC expects to adopt new short-selling rules by September.
Isda credit auction sets 20% Ambac recovery rate
Protection sellers on monoline face 80% cash value payout