ISDA’s analysis of credit default swap (CDS) market size and structure reveals that market risk transfer activity (MRTA) in single-name CDS has been steady since 2016. The analysis also shows that the universe of single-name CDS with MRTA remains large. Over 500 names generated MRTA in each quarter over the past five and a half years. At the same time, MRTA is rather concentrated – 27 names account for about 45% of total single-name CDS MRTA. Meanwhile, MRTA in index CDS leveled off in 2016, and has been on an upward trend since the beginning of 2017.
This analysis explores credit derivatives market size from the start of 2014 until the middle of 2019, using data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation Trade Information Warehouse.
Documents (1) for Global Credit Default Swaps Market Study
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ISDA In Review – August 2026
A compendium of links to new documents, research papers, press releases and comment letters published by ISDA in August 2026.
Remove Bureaucracy from Cross-margin Approvals
Cross-margining programs play a critical role in financial markets. By ensuring margin requirements more closely reflect the actual risk of a portfolio of products, they reduce liquidity strain and improve market efficiency, both of which will become even more important...
Joint Response on CCP Resolution
On September 7, ISDA and FIA responded to a Bank of England (BOE) discussion paper on central counterparty (CCP) resolution. The associations support greater clarity on valuation capabilities prior to a crisis scenario and the boundary between recovery and resolution,...
Expanding Legal Agreement Coverage in the CDM
This paper examines the recent extension of the Common Domain Model (CDM)1 to represent two of the most significant, and previously undeveloped, areas of its legal agreement model: umbrella agreements and contract amendments. Umbrella agreements are widely used to document...