It’s one thing to get criticized by those who don’t understand or like the financial markets. It’s another when the criticism comes from someone who does. A recent Forbes op/ed is clearly in the latter camp. It’s unfortunate and disappointing that it is based on an outdated, inaccurate view of the CDS market.
Contrary to the article’s assertions, CDS trading volumes are publicly available, via the DTCC Trade Information Warehouse. This and other trading information has been available for some time and levels of activity in the CDS market are no surprise to financial market professionals.
In addition, market participants have long maintained that CDS prices should be viewed in context. They are just one indication of credit risk. Would anyone – Mr. Forbes included – buy a stock based on one metric?
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ISDA In Review – August 2026
A compendium of links to new documents, research papers, press releases and comment letters published by ISDA in August 2026.
Remove Bureaucracy from Cross-margin Approvals
Cross-margining programs play a critical role in financial markets. By ensuring margin requirements more closely reflect the actual risk of a portfolio of products, they reduce liquidity strain and improve market efficiency, both of which will become even more important...
Joint Response on CCP Resolution
On September 7, ISDA and FIA responded to a Bank of England (BOE) discussion paper on central counterparty (CCP) resolution. The associations support greater clarity on valuation capabilities prior to a crisis scenario and the boundary between recovery and resolution,...
Expanding Legal Agreement Coverage in the CDM
This paper examines the recent extension of the Common Domain Model (CDM)1 to represent two of the most significant, and previously undeveloped, areas of its legal agreement model: umbrella agreements and contract amendments. Umbrella agreements are widely used to document...
