信用违约互换市场风险及其监管：由AIG事件谈起

作为专门针对信用风险的避险工具,信用违约互换交易已成为现代金融市场的重要组成部分,但交易投机化和监管空白化却又孕育出新的全面市场风险,并在美国国际集团（AIG）濒临破产事件中得以凸显,为缓解银行系统长期积累的信贷风险,我国应尽快开展信用违约互换交易,但应对交易主体资格,交易信息披露,履约争议解决,市场稳定性影响等事项构建严格的持续监管机制。     

信用违约互换市场风险及其监管

由AIG事件谈起 9月16日,美国国际集团(以下简称AIG)被美国政府接管,从而避免了迫在眉睫的破产危机.这一事件标志着次贷危机进一步蔓延,作为次贷市场外层环节的信用违约互换交易(以下简称CDS)开始引起全世界的关注和忧虑.CDS本是金融机构的信用避险工具,反倒酿成严重的市场稳定性风险,其中的过度投机和监管空白问题尤其值得反思.     

信用交易监管：国际比较及借鉴

完善信用交易监管，是防范风险、维护市场稳定的重要手段。本文从信用交易监管制度基础的政策和法规、作为监管依据的信用交易余额公布、信用交易监管工具以及信用交易监管部门等四个方面，分析、比较了美国、英国、日本、韩国、台湾等国家和地区的监管经验，以为国内推出信用交易、完善做空机制提供借鉴。     

美国信用衍生品交易监管立法及对我国的启示

本文论述信用衍生品主要类别、积极作用及交易蕴含风险,分析评价了2010年7月美国国会通过的包含信用衍生品在内的金融衍生品交易监管立法。我国监管层也有推出信用衍生品的计划,并于2010年11月开始市场试点,在此背景下作者对构建我国信用衍生品监管法律制度提出若干建议:加快制定包括信用衍生品在内的统一的金融衍生品交易监管法,为市场发展奠定法律基础;完善金融监管协调机制;尽快出台相关立法或司法解释以解决《中国银行间市场金融衍生产品交易主协议》有关规定与现行法律冲突的问题;适时修改监管规则以鼓励金融机构更多采用信用衍生品管理风险;逐步引进集中清算方式;改进信用衍生品监管信息披露要求。     

我国证券信用交易研究综述

证券信用交易制度有利于完善证券市场交易机制,也伴随着巨大的风险。我国至今仍然禁止开展信用交易。但是,随着我国证券市场的不断成熟,适时推出证券信用交易已成为市场发展的必然要求。国内学术界和证券界对此进行了广泛的研究。本文拟总结我国证券信用交易研究历程和特点,并对信用交易的市场影响、运作模式、监管问题等方面的研究进行综述。     

后金融危机时代场外衍生品交易报告库的发展及启示

次贷金融危机凸显了场外衍生品市场透明度的缺乏,国际监管机构和市场参与者由此意识到建设具有适当风险控制措施、精心设计的交易报告库对于提升市场透明度的重要作用。文章对国际场外衍生品交易报告库的发展及监管进行了详细梳理,对全球性的场外信用衍生品交易报告库Deriv/SERV TIW及场外利率衍生品交易报告库TriOptima IR TRR的架构、运营、功能,及其与其他场外衍生品交易后业务的关联等进行了深入的研究,并就构建中国的场外衍生品交易报告库提出了相关建议。     

区块链在场外衍生品市场组织中的应用研究

因其非标准化合约和非集中交易特征,场外衍生品市场存在交易效率低下,透明度低,交易对手方信用风险管理与监管困难等诸多难题。解决这些问题的传统思路是标准化、中心化,但这又牺牲了场外衍生品个性化、定制化特征。区块链技术有助于在缺乏中心化可信权威的条件下建立信任机制并实现交易,可有效解决制约场外衍生品市场发展的核心问题。基于区块链的场外衍生品交易基础设施的关键技术包括:权威认证共识机制、智能衍生品合约、统一信用评价体系、系统风险监测模型等。经论证,应用区块链技术可有效改善场外衍生品市场的运行组织,提高交易效率和透明度,改善交易对手信用风险管理,加强监管穿透和防范系统性风险。     

民营资本进入银行业的潜在风险及其防范

民营资本进入银行业的潜在风险主要有产融结合的系统性风险和信用信誉风险、关联交易风险、恶意举债风险,针对上述风险来源,要量身定做适合的准入机制,对关联交易实施严格监管,对系族企业加强协调监管,建立顺畅稳健的退出机制。     

次贷危机发生前后信用衍生品市场监管的比较分析

信用衍生品是一柄"双刃剑",因其能分离和转移信用风险而被市场接受,但最终却因使用不当和监管不到位引发了次贷危机.本文从监管理念、监管机构、监管法案、监管举措等四个方面比较分析次贷危机发生前后,美英等国及国际性组织对信用衍生品市场实施监管的变化.在此基础上,探讨其对中国信用衍生品市场建设的启示.     

美国信用违约互换市场动荡的机理与启示

本文首先阐述信用违约互换运作机理、功能和风险,分析了美国信用违约互换市场动荡的原因;指出信用违约互换与次级抵押贷款证券化的广泛挂购、合成以及投机与监管空白是造成市场动荡的重要原因;最后,在展望未来信用违约互换市场发展动向的基础上提出了中国发展信用违约互换市场的若干建议.     

The extent of informational efficiency in the credit default swap market: evidence from post-earnings announcement returns

Under semi-strong market efficiency future returns are unpredictable from previously released information. We test the degree of semi-strong form market efficiency in the credit default swap (CDS) market by examining the relationship between subsequent CDS returns and previously announced quarterly earnings surprises and quarterly accruals, both of which have been the source of stock market anomalies. We conduct our analysis over three time periods: (1) before the credit crisis that spanned from July 2007 to June 2009, (2) during the credit crisis, and (3) after the credit crisis. Both before and after the credit crisis, the CDS market was efficient, exhibiting no systematic relation between subsequent CDS returns and previously announced accounting information. During the credit crisis, however, we find that both quarterly earnings surprises and quarterly accruals are associated with systematic patterns in subsequent CDS returns that are consistent with underreaction to both measures. In the latter stages of the crisis, the pattern reverses, consistent with the CDS market overreacting to both measures although the overreaction is short-lived. Collectively, our results indicate that the CDS market is efficient during periods of relative economic stability but call into question its efficiency during less stable economic periods.     

Information efficiency of the U.S. credit default swap market: Evidence from earnings surprises

The credit default swap (CDS) market attracted much debate during the 2008 financial crisis. Opponents of CDS argue that CDS could lead to financial instability as it allows speculators to bet against companies and make the crisis worse. Proponents of CDS believe that CDS could increase market competition and benefit hedging activities. Moreover, an efficient CDS market can serve as a barometer to regulators and investors regarding the credit health of the underlying reference entity. We investigate information efficiency of the U.S. CDS market using evidence from earnings surprises. Our findings confirm that negative earnings surprises are well anticipated in the CDS market in the month prior to the announcement, with both economically and statistically stronger reactions for speculative-grade firms than for investment-grade firms. On the announcement day, for both positive and negative earnings surprises, the CDS spread for speculative-grade firms presents abnormal changes. Moreover, there is no post-earnings announcement drift in the CDS market, which is in direct contrast to the well-documented post-earnings drift in the stock market. Our evidence supports the efficiency of the CDS market.     

The use of credit default swaps by bond mutual funds: Liquidity provision and counterparty risk

Corporate bond mutual funds increased their selling of credit protection in the credit default swaps (CDS) market during the 2007–2008 financial crisis. This trading activity was primarily in multi-name CDS, greater among larger and established funds, and directed toward counterparty dealers in financial distress. Funds that sold credit protection during the crisis experienced greater credit market risk and superior post-crisis performance, consistent with higher expected returns from liquidity provision. Funds using Lehman Brothers as a counterparty experienced abnormal outflows and returns of –2% immediately following Lehman's bankruptcy, suggesting that funds’ opportunistic trading in CDS exposed investors to counterparty risk.     

Credit and liquidity components of corporate CDS spreads

This paper investigates the role of credit and liquidity factors in explaining corporate CDS price changes during normal and crisis periods. We find that liquidity risk is more important than firm-specific credit risk regardless of market conditions. Moreover, in the period prior to the recent “Great Recession” credit risk plays no role in explaining CDS price changes. The dominance of liquidity effects casts serious doubts on the relevance of CDS price changes as an indicator of default risk dynamics. Our results show how multiple liquidity factors including firm specific and aggregate liquidity proxies as well as an asymmetric information measure are critical determinants of CDS price variations. In particular, the impact of informed traders on the CDS price increases when markets are characterised by higher uncertainty, which supports concerns of insider trading during the crisis.     

Are credit default swaps still a sideshow? How information flow between equity and CDS markets has changed since the financial crisis

We examine the information flow between equity and credit default swap (CDS) markets using firm-level returns data before and after the global financial crisis. Before the crisis, the information flow was unidirectional, with equity returns leading CDS returns. While equity returns continue to lead CDS returns after the crisis, we find that the speed of adjustment of the CDS market to equity markets has increased during this period. We also find evidence of a bidirectional flow of information between these markets, with equity returns responding to credit protection returns in the postcrisis period. The quicker response of CDS spreads to equity returns during the postcrisis period primarily occurs among entities with lower credit ratings. In contrast, the response of equity returns to lagged CDS returns during the postcrisis period is observed among firms across different credit rating categories; however, the magnitude of the response is higher among those with lower credit ratings.     

Contagion inside the credit default swaps market: The case of the GM and Ford crisis in 2005

We study the General Motors (GM) and Ford crisis in 2005 in order to determine if the credit default swap (CDS) market is subject to contagion effects. Has the crisis spread to the whole (CDS) market? To answer this question, we study the correlations between CDS premia, by using a sample of 226 CDSs on major US and European firms. We do evidence a significant rise in correlations during the crisis episode, but little “shift-contagion” as defined by Forbes and Rigobon (2002). When using dynamic measures of correlations (EWMA and DCC-GARCH), we also show that correlations significantly increased during the crisis, especially in the first week.     

Cross-hedging strategies between CDS spreads and option volatility during crises

This paper presents a joint analysis of the term structure of credit default swap (CDS) spreads and the implied volatility surface for five European countries from 2007 to 2012, a sample period covering both the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the European debt crisis. We analyze to which extent effective cross-hedges can be performed between the credit and equity derivatives markets during these two crises. We find that during a global crisis a breakdown of the relationship between credit risk and equity volatility may occur, jeopardizing any cross-hedging strategy, which happened during the GFC. This stands in sharp contrast to the more localized European debt crisis, during which this fundamental relationship was preserved despite turbulent market conditions for both the CDS and volatility markets.     

Pricing Sovereign Credit Risk of Poland: Evidence from the CDS Market

We analyze the market assessment of sovereign credit risk using a reduced-form model to price the credit default swap (CDS) spreads, thus enabling us to derive values for the probability of default (PD) and loss given default (LGD) from the quotes of sovereign CDS contracts. We compare different specifications of the models allowing for both fixed and time-varying LGD, and we use these values to analyze the sovereign credit risk of Polish debt throughout the period of a global financial crisis. Our results suggest the presence of a low LGD and a relatively high PD during a recent financial crisis.     

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.     

Credit risk transfer activities and systemic risk: How banks became less risky individually but posed greater risks to the financial system at the same time

A main cause of the crisis of 2007-2009 is the various ways through which banks have transferred credit risk in the financial system. We study the systematic risk of banks before the crisis, using two samples of banks respectively trading Credit Default Swaps (CDS) and issuing Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs). After their first usage of either risk transfer method, the share price beta of these banks increases significantly. This suggests the market anticipated the risks arising from these methods, long before the crisis. We additionally separate this beta effect into a volatility and a market correlation component. Quite strikingly, this decomposition shows that the increase in the beta is solely due to an increase in banks’ correlations. Thus, while banks may have shed their individual credit risk, they actually posed greater systemic risk. This creates a challenge for financial regulation, which has typically focused on individual institutions.