In Short:
The Situation: Fears of a potential
short-squeeze in the upcoming Sears CDS auction have kicked off
disputes in a variety of venues.
The Result: One of these disputes caused the
fourth-ever convening of an ISDA CDS Determinations Committee
external review panel and another made its way before the Sears
bankruptcy court.
Looking Ahead: The CDS industry is now
grappling with questions regarding whether the CDS auction rules
should be changed and, if so, whether those changes should be
applied prospectively or retrospectively.
The credit derivatives industry underwent a massive overhaul in
2009 as the International Swaps and Derivatives Association
("ISDA") implemented the credit default swap
("CDS") "Big Bang" to increase certainty,
efficiency and uniformity in the global CDS markets. Two of the Big
Bang's hallmark innovations were the establishment of the
Credit Derivatives Determinations Committees (the "DCs")
and the specification of an auction