Short-term determinants of the idiosyncratic sovereign risk premium: A regime-dependent analysis for European credit default swaps

This study investigates the dynamics of the sovereign CDS term premium, i.e. difference between 10Y and 5Y CDS spreads. It can be regarded a forward-looking measure of idiosyncratic sovereign default risk as perceived by financial markets. For some European countries this premium featured distinct nonstationary and heteroskedastic pattern during the last years. Using a Markov-switching unobserved component model, we decompose the daily CDS term premium of five European countries into two unobserved components of statistically different nature and link them in a vector autoregression to various daily observed financial market variables. We find that such decomposition is vital for understanding the short-term dynamics of this premium. The strongest impacts can be attributed to CDS market liquidity, local stock returns, and overall risk aversion. By contrast, the impact of shocks from the sovereign bond market is rather muted. Therefore, the CDS market microstructure effect and investor sentiment play the main roles in sovereign risk evaluation in real time. Moreover, we also find that the CDS term premium response to shocks is regime-dependent and can be ten times stronger during periods of high volatility.     

Do sovereign credit default swaps represent a clean measure of sovereign default risk? A factor model approach

In this study, we use a factor model in order to decompose sovereign Credit Default Swaps (CDS) spreads into default, liquidity, systematic liquidity and correlation components. By calibrating the model to sovereign CDSs and bonds we are able to present a better decomposition and a more accurate measure of spread components. Our analysis reveals that sovereign CDS spreads are highly driven by liquidity (55.6% of default risk and 44.32% of liquidity) and that sovereign bond spreads are less subject to liquidity frictions and therefore could represent a better proxy for sovereign default risk (73% of default risk and 26.86% of liquidity). Furthermore, our model enables us to directly study the effect of systematic liquidity and flight-to-liquidity risks on bond and CDS spreads through the factor sensitivity matrix. We find that these risks do have an influence on the default intensity and they contribute significantly to spread movements. Finally, our empirical results advance the idea that the increase in the CDS spreads observed during the crisis period was mainly due to a surge in liquidity rather than to an increase in the default intensity.     

An analysis of euro area sovereign CDS and their relation with government bonds

We compare the market pricing of euro area government bonds and the corresponding Credit Default Swaps (CDSs). In particular, we analyse the “basis” defined as the difference between the premium on the CDS and the credit spread on the underlying bond. Our sample of weekly data covers the period from January 2007 to December 2012 and contains several episodes of sovereign market distress. Overall, we observe a complex relationship between the derivatives market and the underlying cash market characterised by sizable deviations from the no-arbitrage relationship (i.e. basis equal to zero). We show that short-selling frictions explain the persistence of positive basis deviations while funding frictions explain the persistence of negative basis deviations which are observed for countries with weak public finances. Moreover, we show that the “flight-to-quality/liquidity” phenomenon in bond markets is a key driver of the large positive basis of better rated countries.     

Liquidity and CDS premiums on European companies around the Subprime crisis

This paper sheds new light on the liquidity dynamics of the credit default swaps (CDS) market in Europe around the Subprime crisis. Based on an original dataset of 94 European companies from 2005 to 2009, we use a panel regression analysis to study the relationship between CDS premiums and liquidity. We measure the level of liquidity, look at liquidity risk, and study the liquidity spillovers from the bond and equity markets to the CDS market. We show that the effect of liquidity on CDS premiums is dominated by the influence of worsening credit conditions and deteriorating investors?? expectations about default risk. Controlling for credit risk, we also find that liquidity risk is priced in the European CDS market and that liquidity spillovers from the bond market matter in determining CDS premiums.     

Nonlinearities in CDS-Bond Basis

Theoretically, the risk premium captured by credit default swap (CDS) and bond yield spreads should be equal. However, data reveals a significant difference between the two spreads. The authors explore the presence of mean-reverting behavior in this difference (CDS-bond basis) in selected emerging markets, employing alternative threshold models (TAR, TAR-GARCH, and ESTAR). Their results indicate a positive relationship between the speed of adjustment and the trading frequency of sovereign CDSs and bonds.     

Liquidity and credit premia in the yields of highly-rated sovereign bonds

This paper quantifies liquidity and credit premia in German and French government bond yields. For this purpose, we estimate term structures of government-guaranteed agency bonds and exploit the fact that differences in their yields vis-à-vis government bonds are mainly driven by liquidity effects. Adding information on benchmark rates, we estimate liquidity and credit premia as latent factors in a state-space framework. The results allow us, first, to quantify the price impact of safe-haven flows on sovereign yields, which strongly affected very liquid bond markets during the recent financial crisis. Second, we quantify credit premia for highly rated governments, offering an important alternative to the information based on CDS markets.     

Has the CDS market influenced the borrowing cost of European countries during the sovereign crisis?

This paper assesses the potential influence of the growing CDS market on the borrowing cost of sovereign states during the European sovereign crisis. We analyze the sovereign debt market to ascertain the pattern of information transmission between the CDS and corresponding bond markets. Our methodological innovation is the use of a non-linear specification rather than the linear VECM specification customarily employed. Using a panel smooth transition model during the 2008–2010 period, we find that: 1) linearity tests clearly reject the null hypothesis of a linear transmission mechanisms between the bond and the CDS markets; 2) market distress alters the mutual influence and 3) the higher the distress the more the CDS market dominates the information transmission between CDS and bond markets.     

Factor pricing in commodity futures and the role of liquidity

This paper empirically investigates the pricing factors and their associated risk premiums of commodity futures. Existing pricing factors in equity and bond markets, including market premium and term structure, are tested in commodity futures markets. Hedging pressure in commodity futures markets and momentum effects is also considered. This study combines these factors to discuss their importance in explaining commodity future returns, while the literature has studied these factors separately. One of the important pricing factors in equity and bond markets is liquidity, but its role as a pricing factor in commodity futures markets has not yet been studied. To our knowledge, this research is the first to study liquidity as a pricing factor in commodity futures. The risk premiums of two momentum factors and speculators’ hedging pressure range from 2% to 3% per month and are greater than the risk premiums of roll yield (0.8%) and liquidity (0.5%). The result of a significant liquidity premium suggests that liquidity is priced in commodity futures.     

News sentiment and sovereign credit risk

We explore the impact of media content on sovereign credit risk. Our measure of media tone is extracted from the Thomson Reuters News Analytics database. As a proxy for sovereign credit risk we consider credit default swap (CDS) spreads, which are decomposed into their risk premium and default risk components. We find that media tone explains and predicts CDS returns and is a mixture of noise and information. Its effect on risk premium induces a temporary change in investors’ appetite for credit risk exposure, whereas its impact on the default component leads to reassessments of the fundamentals of sovereign economies.     

Did CDS trading improve the market for corporate bonds?

Financial innovation through the creation of new markets and securities impacts related markets as well, changing their efficiency, quality (pricing error), and liquidity. The credit default swap (CDS) market was undoubtedly one of the salient new markets of the past decade. In this paper we examine whether the advent of CDS trading was beneficial to the underlying secondary market for corporate bonds. We employ econometric specifications that account for information across CDS, bond, equity, and volatility markets. We also develop a novel methodology to utilize all observations in our data set even when continuous daily trading is not evidenced, because bonds trade much less frequently than equities. Using an extensive sample of CDS and bond trades over 2002–2008, we find that the advent of CDS was largely detrimental. Bond markets became less efficient, evidenced no reduction in pricing errors, and experienced no improvement in liquidity. These findings are robust to various slices of the data set and specifications of our tests.     

Credit default swaps and corporate bond trading

Using regulatory data on CDS holdings and corporate bond transactions, I provide evidence for a liquidity spillover effect from CDS to bond markets. Bond trading volumes are 70% larger for investors with CDS positions written on the debt issuer. Moreover, higher CDS trading activity substantially improves the liquidity of the underlying bonds, particularly around rating downgrades. Additional analyses reveal that the spillover effect is partly driven by naked CDS positions, highlighting one of the adverse consequences of naked CDS bans for bond markets. The results suggest that the presence of an accessible CDS market enhances the liquidity of the underlying bond market.     

Credit default swaps and the market for sovereign debt

In this paper, we analyze the determinants and effects of credit default swap (CDS) trading initiation in the sovereign bond market. CDS trading initiation is associated with a 30–150 basis point reduction in sovereign bond yields, with greater yield reductions accruing to higher default risk economies. For countries with high default risk, rated B or lower by Standard and Poor’s, CDS initiation is also associated with significant price efficiency benefits in the underlying market. CDS trading initiation is more likely following increases in local equity index volatility, index spreads for regional and global CDS markets, or depreciation of the local currency relative to the US dollar, and decreases in a country’s ability to service foreign debt. Our results are robust to selection bias controls based on these factors.     

The dynamics of sovereign yields over swap rates in the Eurozone market

We explore the dynamics of the adjusted swap spread (calculated as the difference between the swap rate and sovereign yields over the credit default swap premium) in the Eurozone market by studying three markets simultaneously: 1) sovereign bonds, 2) credit default swaps (CDS), and 3) swap rates. We find a strong relationship between the markets. Specifically, based on the no-arbitrage argument, we show that the difference between the Euribor and Repo rates is a key driver of the adjusted swap spread. However, illiquidity premiums and systemic risk also play an essential role in times of economic stress and for less creditworthy countries. The findings also shed light on the recent negative swap spreads puzzle in the United States.     

Conditional sovereign CDS in market basket risk scenario: A dynamic vine-copula analysis

This study examines the sensitivity of sovereign CDS markets in G7 and BRICS, which is conditional on a joint market basket risk scenario consisting of crude oil, gold, stock indices, exchange rates, freight indices, and copper prices. By compare the conditional and unconditional sovereign CDS returns using dynamic Vine-Copula model, we find that: 1) The conditional sovereign CDS returns will be less than (greater than) the unconditional ones, when scenario settings is at upper (lower) quantile level. Extreme scenario risk level settings (e.g., 1% or 99%) do not always make a significant difference between conditional and unconditional sovereign CDS. 2) Major black swan evens have significant impact on the difference between the conditional and unconditional sovereign CDS, but such an impact is short-lived especially in G7 countries. 3) Taking into account of the covariate effects, the conditional risk scenarios of sovereign CDS are heterogeneous across countries, down- and up-ward tail as well risk factors associated with the market basket.     

The impact of central clearing on counterparty risk,liquidity, and trading: Evidence from the credit default swap market

This paper examines the impact of central clearing on the credit default swap (CDS) market using a sample of voluntarily cleared single-name contracts. Consistent with central clearing reducing counterparty risk, CDS spreads increase around the commencement of central clearing and are lower than settlement spreads published by the central clearinghouse. Furthermore, the relation between CDS spreads and dealer credit risk weakens after central clearing begins, suggesting a lowering of systemic risk. These findings are robust to controls for frictions in both CDS and bond markets. Finally, matched sample analysis reveals that the increased post-trade transparency following central clearing is associated with an improvement in liquidity and trading activity.     

Spillovers among sovereign CDS,stock and commodity markets: A correlation network perspective

In the wake of the globalization of financial markets, studying spillovers among different asset markets, especially spillovers that include sovereign CDS markets, is of vital importance. This paper attempts to build a spillover network to investigate the complex interactions within the system of sovereign CDS, stock and commodity markets by adopting the spillover index based on forecast error variance (FEV) decomposition. The results reveal that emerging countries have larger average spillovers than developed countries with regard to sovereign CDS-to-stock returns spillovers, while the developed countries contribute more average spillovers than the emerging countries in the opposite direction. Moreover, the sovereign CDS market and the commodity market still demonstrate a relatively important role during certain periods although stock markets always occupy the dominant position during every phase. Our findings provide new insights into spillovers among the major global asset markets using a network perspective, which is valuable for regulation of financial markets, asset allocation and portfolio risk management.     

The reinvestment risk premium in the valuation of British and Russian government bonds

This article studies the dynamic properties of the reinvestment risk premium in the UK and RF government bond markets. In a new interest rate environment when sovereign debt trades at a low and even negative yields and bond funds are struggling to earn sufficient returns, bond investors have become increasingly wary of reinvestment risk largely neglected previously. The reinvestment risk premium is quantified on the basis of replicating portfolios and further analyzed with respect to exposure to exogenous influence with the help of cointegration techniques. The findings are that in both markets investors recognize the significance of reinvestment risk. However, there are differences in the sensitivity of the reinvestment risk premium to exogenous indicators. In the UK government bond market investors tend to be guided by more conservative indicators but are ready to forecast in the medium-run; in the RF government bond market investors tend to be guided by less conservative indicators but are ready to forecast only in the short-run.     

A Pyrrhic Victory? Bank Bailouts and Sovereign Credit Risk

We model a loop between sovereign and bank credit risk. A distressed financial sector induces government bailouts, whose cost increases sovereign credit risk. Increased sovereign credit risk in turn weakens the financial sector by eroding the value of its government guarantees and bond holdings. Using credit default swap (CDS) rates on European sovereigns and banks, we show that bailouts triggered the rise of sovereign credit risk in 2008. We document that post‐bailout changes in sovereign CDS explain changes in bank CDS even after controlling for aggregate and bank‐level determinants of credit spreads, confirming the sovereign‐bank loop.     

Option-implied correlation between iTraxx Europe Financials and Non-Financials Indexes: A measure of spillover effect in European debt crisis

This paper proposes an analytic method to estimate the option-implied correlation embedded in options on the iTraxx Europe CDS indexes. The option-implied correlation is suggested as a measure of the spillover effect of default risk between the financial and corporate sectors in Europe. In particular, the correlation between the iTraxx Financials and Non-Financials sub-indexes is estimated from options on the iTraxx Main Index, which is considered as a basket option with the two sub-indexes being its underlyings. The abrupt changes of the realized correlation anticipated information of the corresponding option prices. The sovereign default risk, funding liquidity risk, level of risk aversion, and equity market performance are identified to be significant determinants of the option-implied correlation, implying inter-dependence amongst various markets during the European debt crisis.     

Do green financial policies offset the climate transition risk penalty imposed on long-term sovereign bond yields?

Asset valuations in high-carbon sectors face significant corrections due to climate risks. This paper specifically analyses whether markets impose a penalty on long-term sovereign bonds issued by countries facing higher climate-related transition risk while rewarding those that have implemented green financial policies to mitigate these risks. We find that higher carbon dioxide emissions and a lower sustainable development score (both proxies for transition risks) lead to an increase in long-term sovereign bond yields. However, the presence of green financial policies appears to offset this climate transition risk premium.