Editing Credit derivative (section)

{{Short description|Exotic financial option}}
{{Financial markets}}
In [[finance]], a '''credit derivative''' refers to any one of "various instruments and techniques designed to separate and then transfer the ''[[credit risk]]''"<ref name=Econ1>[[The Economist]] ''Passing on the risks'' 2 November 1996</ref> or the risk of an event of default of a corporate or sovereign borrower, transferring it to an entity other than the lender<ref>{{cite book |last = Das |first = Satyajit |title = Credit Derivatives: CDOs and Structured Credit Products, 3rd Edition |publisher = Wiley |year = 2005 |isbn = 978-0-470-82159-6}}</ref> or debtholder.

An unfunded credit derivative is one where credit protection is bought and sold between bilateral counterparties without the protection seller having to put up money upfront or at any given time during the life of the deal unless an event of default occurs. Usually these contracts are traded pursuant to an [[International Swaps and Derivatives Association]] (ISDA) master agreement. Most credit derivatives of this sort are [[credit default swap]]s. If the credit derivative is entered into by a financial institution or a [[special purpose vehicle]] (SPV) and payments under the credit derivative are funded using [[securitization]] techniques, such that a debt obligation is issued by the financial institution or SPV to support these obligations, this is known as a funded credit derivative.

This synthetic securitization process has become increasingly popular over the last decade, with the simple versions of these structures being known as synthetic [[collateralized debt obligation]]s (CDOs), [[credit-linked note]]s or [[single-tranche CDO]]s. In funded credit derivatives, transactions are often rated by rating agencies, which allows investors to take different slices of credit risk according to their risk appetite.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Bruyere |first1 = Richard |last2 = Cont|first2 = Rama |title = Credit Derivatives and Structured Credit: A guide for investors |publisher = Wiley |year = 2006 |isbn = 978-0470018798}}</ref>