NEW YORK, Tuesday, May 18, 2010—The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today made the following statement in light of the continued focus on the role of credit default swaps (CDS) in the global marketplace.

“ISDA recognizes the concerns of national authorities in managing the volatility in their respective government debt markets and respects the role of financial regulators in taking measures to preserve the stability of their markets.

“ISDA and its members are eager to work with regulatory authorities globally to address these legitimate concerns and the role of sovereign CDS in today’s volatile markets. ISDA also notes that so-called naked sovereign CDS may be used by banks that extend credit to corporations and banks, by investors in stocks and by entities that have significant real estate or corporate holdings.

“ISDA supports the many efforts of global policymakers in examining the CDS and other derivatives markets to ensure they are safe and efficient. ISDA believes policymakers should have the supervisory tools and authority to take action should any abuses be found in the operations of any financial market.

“ISDA and the industry are committed to providing regulators with complete transparency for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, including CDS. The Association supports proposals that will require the use of, and reporting to, trade repositories for OTC derivatives.

“Demonstrating this commitment, all CDS transactions today are—in advance of the adoption of any legislation or regulation—being recorded into a central data repository. The Depository Trust Company’s Trade Information Warehouse provides supervisors with visibility across the market as a whole as well as by transaction, firm, and counterparty. In addition, the amount of outstanding CDS and weekly transaction activity for the 1,000 largest names (including sovereign CDS) are publicly available through DTCC`s website (www.dtcc.com/products/derivserv/data/index.php).”

About ISDA

ISDA, which represents participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry, is among the world’s largest global financial trade associations as measured by number of member firms. ISDA was chartered in 1985, and today has over 820 member institutions from 57 countries on six continents. These members include most of the world’s major institutions that deal in privately negotiated derivatives, as well as many of the businesses, governmental entities and other end users that rely on over-the-counter derivatives to manage efficiently the financial market risks inherent in their core economic activities.  Information about ISDA and its activities is available on the Association’s web site: www.isda.org.

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