BIS reports first-half growth in CDS volumes

The volume of outstanding credit default swaps grew by 49% in the first half of the year to $43 trillion at the end of June. This compares with a 41% rise in the previous six months, a report from the BIS shows. The sell-off in credit markets in February and March 2007 apparently had little effect on the growth of the CDS market. Growth in multi-name contracts (70%) was almost twice as high as that in single-name contracts (36%). Positions in the OTC derivatives market as a whole grew to $516