Documenting EDS

Equity default swaps

Globally, the continued squeeze on credit default spreads has made it increasingly difficult for banks to arrange synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) transactions that offer sufficient returns to attract investors (particularly for the equity tranche), while allowing the swap counterparty to retain a satisfactory yield. In Japan, the slowdown has been more dramatic since the appetite for the more complex (but potentially higher yielding) structures, such as CDOs of asset-backed