As the name suggests, Credit derivatives are financial instruments derived from the credit and transfer the credit risk of an underlying security portfolio from one party to the other. It only transfers the risk without transferring the portfolio.
Credit Derivatives and their benefits
Types of Credit derivatives
Various kinds of derivatives are available, each with their own purpose and rule of exchange. Over time, the derivatives have become more and more refined. They tend to improve the business operations with great efficiency, which in turn acts as an incentive for their own creation. The following are some of the types of derivatives:
1. Commodities Derivatives: The value of these derivatives is in accordance with the value of the commodity.
2. Credit derivatives Swaps: Here, derivatives get exchanged for insurance or for other derivatives.
3. Corporate Bonds: Ex-Bundled loans in the form of an actively traded bond.
4. Credit derivatives Futures: There is an obligation where one has to purchase derivatives at a future date. The physical delivery of these bonds is optional.
5. Credit derivatives Forward: These derivatives are similar to future derivatives but with fewer regulations and physical delivery.
How does it work?
Credit derivatives help the lenders to remove the risk of default from a loan portfolio. In exchange, they charge an upfront fee, which they refer to as the premium. In this, the remaining principal or interest amount on the default loan is paid to the lender by a third party, if any.
Credit Derivatives Benefits to Buyers & Sellers
The price of the derivatives may differ in different markets due to inefficiency or oversupply in the international securities market’s capitalization. The financial institutions and companies generally favor derivatives.
Below are the benefits for both the buyers and the sellers:
Benefits to the buyers
1. Greater Market Liquidity: Through liquidity, trade facilitation can enhance.
2. Leverage Investment: It is easy to leverage the derivatives due to their liquidity.
3. Fee earning Opportunities: If the value of the original financial instrument gets increased, then the insurers of these derivatives can earn free money.
4. Insurance Product Diversification: It allows the insurer to diversify the insurance products and thus lowers the risk of insurance.
5. De-bundling of the underlying securities or commodities enhances e efficiency.
Benefits to the Sellers
- It helps them to manage the risk and also in the hedging of the investment, for example, the derivatives Bond Insurance.
- It improves the credit risk separation by making them efficient and times the management of the risk via duration.
- It helps the sellers to diversify their portfolio, for example, the credit derivatives swaps.
- It increases the capital cash flow in accordance with the proceeds from the sale of corporate derivative bonds.
Pros of Credit Derivatives
- It offers insurance against default
- It has the ability to improve the quality of debt.
- It frees up the capital
Cons of Credit Derivatives
- The trade of this is over the counter, which means these are non-standardized and non-regulated.
- It is difficult to track them.
- These lack transparency.
