London and New York – Markit and Creditex today announced the launch of an industry-wide portfolio compression platform for the credit derivative market with the first live runs completed successfully for single name credit default swaps (CDS) in the North American and European markets.

The first North American live portfolio compression run, which took place on 27 August with the participation of 14 credit derivative dealers, was conducted for CDS contracts referencing several widely traded North American telecommunications companies. It achieved a 56% gross notional reduction of compressible[1] contracts and a 49% gross notional reduction across all participating counterparties.

The first European live portfolio compression run was held on 4 September with the participation of 15 credit derivative dealers. The service was run on CDS contracts referencing several widely traded European telecommunications companies, and achieved a 53% gross notional reduction of compressible contracts and a 46% gross notional reduction across ...   more »