Demand-Supply Imbalances in the Credit Default Swap Market: Empirical Evidence

Abstract

This paper empirically examines demand-supply imbalances in the credit default swap (CDS) market and provides evidence of its effect on the CDS spread dynamics. Analysis is conducted on a large and homogenous data set of the 92 non-financial European companies with the most quoted Euro-denominated CDS contracts during the 2002-2008 period. Main findings indicate that short-term CDS price movements, not related to fundamentals, are positively affected by demand-supply imbalances when protection buyers outstrip protection sellers. Results illustrate that CDS spreads reflect not only the price of credit protection, but also a liquidity premium for the anticipated cost of unwinding the position of protection sellers, especially during stress periods.