Sunday, March 1, 2009

Credit Default Swaps are a form of Counterfeiting

SEC chairman Christopher Cox equated the sale of the unregulated bond derivatives with naked short selling:
"Economically, a CDS buyer is tantamount to a short seller of the bond underlying the CDS. Whereas a person who owns a bond profits when its issuer is in a position to repay the bond, a short seller profits when, among other things, the bond goes into default. Importantly, CDS buyers do not have to own the bond or other debt instrument upon which a CDS contract is based. This means CDS buyers can 'naked short' the debt of companies without restriction."

Read CFO Magazine article.

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