CFTC chairman attacks credit default swaps

Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) laid into the credit default swap (CDS) market on March 9, at a New York conference hosted by London-based data vendor Markit.  

“I really do think CDSs directly contributed to the financial crisis of the past year-and-a-half,” commented Gensler, during his keynote address. 

Like other derivatives, CDSs serve a price discovery function. However, they also have characteristics that separate them from other products, Gens