After about a year since our last blog on this topic, it is high time for another look at the most active names in CDS, using data reported to US SEC Securities Based Data Repositories (SBSDRs).
CDS on sovereigns
Using SBSDRView, we can find the most active sovereign CDS trades in April 2025, starting with USD activity.
Table 1 – Most active USD CDS on sovereigns in April 2025
The chart shows the name, gross notional in USD millions, trade count, and rank in April 2025 (with the change in rank from March 2025). We prefer to rank CDS by trade count, as total gross notional is understated given the $5 million maximum on single trade disclosed notional.
We see:
- Brazil was the most active name with 445 trades and was also top in the prior month.
- Columbia was second most active with 299 trades, up from fifth the prior month.
- South Africa, Mexico, and Türkiye completed the top 5.
- The largest gainers in rank from the prior month were Israel, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Peru.
- The largest fallers in rank were Korea and Indonesia.
Changing to EUR, we see the following:
Table 2 – EUR CDS on sovereigns in April 2025
We see:
- The US traded eight times, each capped at $5m.
- France and Italy had one trade each.
The US had a few EUR CDS trades per month recently,- the most being during the November 2024 US election. Trading the US in EUR makes sense as any credit downgrade would likely impact the dollar itself.
CDS on US corporates
Next, we look at the top 25 most active US corporates, by trade count.
Table 3 – Most active CDS US corporates in April 2025
We see:
- Kohl’s was the top name, up 11 places after recent downgrades by Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P.
- General Motors was second, up two places from March 2025.
- Ford was third, down from first.
- American Airlines was fourth, down from third.
- Notable risers included Occidental Petroleum, Transocean, Macy’s, MGIC, and Morgan Stanley.
CDS on EU corporates
Next, let us look at the top 25 most active EU Corporates.
Table 4 – Most active CDS EU corporates in April 2025
We see:
- Bank Intesa Sanpaolo had the most trades with 72 and moved up from second place in March 2025.
- Glencore was second, up 41 places.
- Alstom Deutsche Bank was third, up 12 places.
- Jaguar Land Rover was fourth, up 10 places.
- Virgin Media was fifth, up 21 places.
- Other notable risers were Repsol, Kering, ITV, Commerzbank, and Stora.
- UniCredit and Societe Generale were equal largest fallers, both down 11 places.
A change in rank, signifying more trading, could be for various reasons. For example, a change in investor perception of the credit-worthiness of a name, a recent debt issue, or financial news for the name or sector.
CDS on Japanese corporates
Next, we look at Japanese corporates.
Table 5 – Most active CDS Japanese corporates in April 2025
We see:
- Rakuten was in top place, with 17 trades.
- Softbank was second with 16 trades.
- Three names had CDS trades in the month.
By comparison, looking at March 2025, we see six names with the same top two as April.
Table 6 – Most active CDS JP corporates in March 2025
In summary
- There is a lot of data available from the US SBSDRs.
- SBSDRView provides new transparency on OTC Derivatives in Credit and Equity.
- Our Most Active view highlights the names that trade most frequently each day/week/month.
- From which you can drill down to trade details.
- Providing new information and insights.
- Please contact us, if you are interested in using SBSDRView.