The Australian credit default swap (CDS) market has been increasingly used by financial institutions to trade and manage credit risk. As a result, there has been greater use of the market as a source of credit risk pricing information. Similarities between CDS and bonds allow pricing in the two...

After falling for over a decade, the major banks' net interest margins appear to have stabilised in a relatively narrow range in recent years. In the early part of the financial crisis, margins fell to the bottom of this range, reflecting an increase in debt funding costs. Margins have since...

The global financial crisis has affected the cost and composition of Australian banks’ funding, with flow-on effects to their lending rates and net interest margins. Since mid 2007, Australian banks’ overall funding costs have risen significantly relative to the cash rate, mainly...

The market for Commonwealth Government securities (CGS) is a key financial market in Australia because, among other things, it provides a risk-free benchmark for the pricing of a wide range of fixed income securities. This article discusses aspects of the infrastructure that underpins the...