Based on a sample of mid-tier and top-tier internationally active banks with five-year senior CDS spreads, this paper investigates the determinants of CDS spreads and whether CDS spreads can be considered a good proxy of bank risk. The analysis encompasses three time periods: a pre-crisis period...

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 and, shortly afterwards, the near downfall of the insurance conglomerate American International Group (AIG), both of which were heavily involved in the CDS sector, polarised attention towards the CDS activities of the major international banks....