For Immediate Release Friday,
November 9, 2001
For More Information, Please Contact:
Stacy Carey, ISDA New York, (212) 332-1200; Fax (212) 332-1212; scarey@isda.org
Polling
member firms for the first time on credit derivatives transactions, ISDA
surveyed total notional outstanding volumes for single name credit default
swaps, default swaps on baskets of up to ten credits, and portfolio
transactions of ten credits and more. 83 ISDA member firms supplied data on
these products. Interest rate and currency derivatives growth was 3.573% in the
first half of the year among members that also reported to ISDA at year-end
2000. For these firms, total notional outstanding volumes increased from
$53.267 trillion to $55.170 trillion. Total notional principle of interest rate
swaps, interest rate options and currency swaps for all surveyed firms dipped
to $57.305 trillion from $63.009 trillion last year. Among top ten dealers,
there was also a minor decrease in volume from $35.648 trillion to $35.532
trillion.
“Shifting product use is a reflection of a
more uncertain global market environment,” said Thomas K. Montag,
Vice-Chairman of ISDA and Chair of the Association’s Market Survey Committee.
“The market for credit protection has an obvious appeal during times of
economic downturn,” said Mr Montag,
a Managing Director of Global Interest Rate Products and Asia FICC, and
Co-President of Goldman Sachs (
The
survey, which is compiled twice yearly by Andersen LLP, is performed on a
confidential basis. It is complemented by the more comprehensive survey
produced quarterly by the Bank for International Settlements. Of the 83 member
institutions providing outstanding notional volumes figures in the ISDA
interest rate and currency derivatives survey, 67 were participants in the
previous semi-annual survey.