The figures show a relatively steady growth in the second half of 2007, despite the turmoil in global financial markets caused by the credit crunch. Notional amounts of all categories of OTC contracts rose by 15% to $596 trillion at the end of December, following a 24% increase in the first half of the year.Growth remained particularly strong in the credit derivatives market, where the notional amounts of outstanding credit default swaps increased by 36% to $58 trillion. The breakdown by counterparty showed that CDS contracts with insurance firms recorded a high growth rate (46%), along with contracts with banks and securities firms (44%), although the share of insurance firms was still very small ... more »
