Credit default swaps offer insurance protection against borrower defaults, while total return swaps allow investors to benefit from securities without needing to own them. The most popular types ...

Image source: Getty Images. Credit default swaps (CDS) are the most common type of financial derivative, a form of insurance that protects purchasers from losing money in case of a borrower default.

A credit default swap is a type of swap designed to transfer the credit exposure of fixed-income products. It can reference either a single name or an index of names. For the duration of the contract, ...

The credit default swap evolved from swaps ... that were just a little bit away from the very low-risk, Fannie Mae-type mortgages. So maybe it was the jumbo mortgages, the mortgages of more ...

This article was first published in March 2008. We have since updated the credit default swap ratings so they reflect the current positions. The whole point about the 'credit crunch' - is that it ...