Search Results
Working Paper
Identifying Contagion in a Banking Network
We present the first micro-level evidence of the transmission of shocks through financial networks. Using the network of credit default swap (CDS) transactions between banks, we identify bank CDS returns attributable to counterparty losses. A bank's own CDS spread increases whenever counterparties from whom it has purchased default protection themselves experience losses. We find no such effect from losses of non-counterparties, nor from counterparties to whom the bank has sold protection. The effect on bank CDS returns through this counterparty loss channel is large relative to the direct ...
Journal Article
CDS Auctions: An Overview
We discuss the historical background of the credit default swap (CDS) market, why CDS auctions were developed, and the most recent literature. We describe the auction rules using the Toys R Us auction as an example. Furthermore, we discuss the theoretical and empirical results presented in Chernov et al. (2013). Empirically, we extend their data to include more recent CDS auctions. Our results support their findings that dealers have incentive to manipulate the auction price downward when the net open interest is positive. Finally, we use novel dealer-level CDS positions to support Chernov et ...
Working Paper
Counterparty Risk and Counterparty Choice in the Credit Default Swap Market
We investigate how market participants price and manage counterparty risk in the post-crisis period using confidential trade repository data on single-name credit default swap (CDS) transactions. We find that counterparty risk has a modest impact on the pricing of CDS contracts, but a large impact on the choice of counterparties. We show that market participants are significantly less likely to trade with counterparties whose credit risk is highly correlated with the credit risk of the reference entities and with counterparties whose credit quality is relatively low. Furthermore, we examine ...
Working Paper
Half-full or Half-empty? Financial Institutions, CDS Use, and Corporate Credit Risk
We construct a novel U.S. data set that matches bank holding company credit default swap (CDS) positions to detailed U.S. credit registry data containing both loan and corporate bond holdings to study the effects of banks' CDS use on corporate credit quality. Banks may use CDS to mitigate agency frictions and not renegotiate loans with solvent but illiquid borrowers resulting in poorer measures of credit risk. Alternatively, banks may lay off the credit risk of high quality borrowers through the CDS market to comply with risk-based capital requirements, which does not impact corporate credit ...
Working Paper
Credit Default Swaps
Credit default swaps (CDS) are the most common type of credit derivative. This paper provides a brief history of the CDS market and discusses its main characteristics. After describing the basic mechanics of a CDS, I present a simple valuation framework that focuses on the relationship between conditions in the cash and CDS markets as well as an approach to mark to market existing CDS positions. The discussion highlights how the 2008 global financial crisis helped shape current practices and conventions in the CDS market, including the widespread adoption of standardized coupons and upfront ...
Journal Article
Over-the-counter swaps – before and after reform
Now that the main elements of the new regulations can be described, let?s see how a simplified trade would be typically carried out by a fictional set of institutions both before and after the reform.3 First Bank is a large dealer bank that buys and sells securities and derivatives. High Yield (HY) is a mutual fund that has a large portfolio of junk bonds. HY wants to hedge against the risk of a downturn in the junk bond market.