Credit Default Swaps (CDS)

Credit Default Swaps (CDS)

Credit Default Swaps (CDS) help investors to assess correctly the creditworthiness of the relevant certificates issuer. Since certificates are debt instruments, creditworthiness is an important criterion in the investment decision.

The following information relates to credit default swaps with a maturity period of five years and corporate bonds as a benchmark. The base points given represent the insurance premiums that the policyholder has to pay to obtain cover against a default on the debt instruments of the relevant company. These premiums can give information on the creditworthiness of an issuer even more quickly and more reliably than some ratings. The general rule is:  A narrow spread, i.e. a low risk premium, indicates high creditworthiness and vice versa.

Important note

Please note that the creditworthiness of an issuer is only one of many important criteria to be considered in purchasing a certificate, and should by no means be taken as the only basis for an investment decision. The following information does not constitute investment advice, and should not be taken as either an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell a security from a particular issuer. Nor is this information intended as a substitute for consulting an investment adviser. It is also important not to invest in only one product, but to diversify, in other words to spread the investment widely so that no single investment product within a portfolio is too heavily weighted. Bundesverband für strukturierte Wertpapiere (BSW) is meticulous in its sourcing and presentation of data, but it cannot assume liability for its correctness, completeness, currentness and/or exactness.

1) As a private bank, BHF-Bank does not issue any corporate bonds for refinancing purposes; there is therefore no credit spread.

2) Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG is the issuer of certificates offered to investors from Citigroup Germany. However, the credit spread shown here relates to the parent company, Citigroup Inc., not to Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG, since there are no credit default swaps on Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG.

3) As an owner-operated private bank, Sal Oppenheim jr. & Cie. does not issue corporate bonds for refinancing purposes; there is therefore no credit spread.

4) Since SEB does not issue corporate bonds for refinancing purposes, there is no credit spread.

5) Since neither Bank Vontobel Ltd nor any of its group companies has corporate bonds outstanding, there is no credit spread.

6) For refinancing purposes, DZ BANK, the umbrella organisation of the Volksbank and Raiffeisenbank cooperative financial institutions in the Rhineland and Westphalia, issues mainly bearer debt instruments to its member banks and their private customers. As these cannot be freely traded on the capital market, there is no credit spread.