CME to clear and trade credit default swaps

H

Hook N. Sinker

From cmegroup.com:

SEC grants CME Group and CMDX special exemption to clear and trade credit default swaps

CME Group and CMDX have now completed regulatory reviews required to launch CMDX platform.

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One reason banks, securities brokers and insurance companies are in trouble is they might hold credit default swaps. If credit default swaps do not trade then their market value is not known. I believe the accounting rules state that if the market value is not known then the securities must be assigned a value of zero.

CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) may be creating a public marketplace for credit default swaps. If credit default swaps can be valued then some balance sheets might change a lot. Valuations of companies might change a lot.
 
1) New product launches are almost always bearish.
2) This could bring transparency to "dark" market.
3) It could make the current financial crisis worse by compelling holders of CDS's to value them "properly", i.e. mark-to-market instead of mark-to-model. We'll see. :cool:
 
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