Glossary

Credit Default Swap

See Also:

Default: Default is the failure to perform on a futures contract as required by exchange rules, such as a failure to meet a margin call or to make or take delivery.

Swap: In general, the exchange of one asset or liability for a similar asset or liability for the purpose of lengthening or shortening maturities, or raising or lowering coupon rates, to maximize revenue or minimize financing costs. Swap may entail selling one securities issue and buying another in foreign currency; it may entail buying a currency on the spot market and simultaneously selling it forward. Swaps also may involve exchanging income flows; for example, exchanging the fixed rate coupon stream of a bond for a variable rate payment stream, or vice versa, while not swapping the principal component of the bond. Swaps are generally traded over-the-counter.

Buyer: Buyer is a market participant (trader/investor) who takes a long futures position or buys an option. An option buyer is also called a taker, holder, or owner.

Call: There are three meaning of the "Call" term. It could be:
1) An option contract giving the buyer the right but not the obligation to purchase a commodity or other asset or to enter into a long futures position;
2) a period at the opening and the close of some futures markets in which the price for each futures contract is established by auction;
3) the requirement that a financial instrument be returned to the issuer prior to maturity, with principal and accrued interest paid off upon return.

Called: Called is another term for exercised when an option is a call. In the case of an option on a physical, the writer of a call must deliver the indicated underlying commodity when the option is exercised or called. In the case of an option on a futures contract, a futures position will be created that will require margin, unless the writer of the call has an offsetting position.

CIF: CIF is the cost, insurance, and freight paid to a point of destination and included in the price quoted.

Contract: Contract is a term of reference describing a unit of trading for a commodity future or option. At the same time contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specified commodity, detailing the amount and grade of the product and the date on which the contract will mature and become deliverable.

Credit Default Option: Credit Default Option is a put option that makes a payoff in the event the issuer of a specified reference asset defaults. Also called default option.

Credit Derivative: Credit Derivative is an over-the-counter (OTC) derivative designed to assume or shift credit risk, that is, the risk of a credit event such as a default or bankruptcy of a borrower. For example, a lender might use a credit derivative to hedge the risk that a borrower might default or have its credit rating downgraded. Common credit derivatives include credit default options, credit default swaps, credit spread options, downgrade options, and total return swaps.

Credit Event: Credit Event is an event such as a debt default or bankruptcy that will affect the payoff on a credit derivative, as defined in the derivative agreement.

Exchange: A central marketplace with established rules and regulations where buyers and sellers meet to trade futures and options contracts or securities. Exchanges include designated contract markets and derivatives transaction execution facilities.

Exchange: A central marketplace with established rules and regulations where buyers and sellers meet to trade futures and options contracts or securities. Exchanges include designated contract markets and derivatives transaction execution facilities.

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