CDS
Credit Default Swap
Short definition
A CDS is the premium for protection against default on a reference credit. Sovereign CDS floors a Turkish firm’s external funding and FX-loan spread; it is a market proxy for ratings, not the same object.
Detailed explanation
The premium carries expected loss plus liquidity and risk appetite. Ratings move slowly, CDS fast; a divergence means the cash problem showed in the market before the grade.
If the firm has no CDS, sovereign CDS plus a sector add-on is a crude CRP. New York/Tokyo pricing leaks into local Kd through this channel.
Why it matters for the CFO
The cost of external loans and FX bonds moves with CDS. Domestic credit is hit indirectly via bank funding and the sovereign ceiling.
How to read it
A CDS rise is worse PD or recovery, or risk appetite leaving. The absolute level is not a universal crisis line.
Related calculators
Güven Sayılgan’s writing on this topic
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What to learn next
Definitions are educational. They are not investment, credit or tax advice.