The credit derivatives market started life with good intentions, designed as a risk management tool to help banks manage loan exposure to companies.
人们怀着良好意图创立了信用衍生品市场，其设计初衷是作为一种风险管理工具，帮助银行管理对企业的贷款敞口。
Now, after a sharp decline following the financial crisis, Wall Street is pushing a second act for single-name credit default swaps.
现在，在金融危机造成的大幅下挫后，华尔街正在推动单一名称信用违约互换(CDS)的重启。

These are distinct from the CDS indices that provide exposure to whole classes of credit instead of just a single loan, which survived and thrived after the meltdown of AIG and other big sellers of single-name CDS.
单一名称CDS与CDS指数截然不同，后者提供对整类信用产品的敞口，而非对某一笔贷款的敞口。在美国国际集团(AIG)和其他出售单一名称CDS的大型机构崩溃后，CDS指数得以存活并繁荣发展。
The market in single-name CDS has plummeted to about a third of its size in 2008, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements, and some now fear the end is in sight. With company defaults at historic lows, there is little perceived need to buy insurance on individual companies with weak balance sheets.
国际清算银行(BIS)的数据显示，单一名称CDS市场的规模已降至2008年的约三分之一，现在一些人忧虑这一市场的末日就在眼前。企业违约率处于历史低位，很少有人认为需要针对资产负债表薄弱的单个公司购买保险。
“If we don’t act on this now, we are concerned that more dealers will leave and there might not be enough banks supporting the product to make it viable to trade,” one trading head at a US asset manager says.
“如果我们现在不就此采取行动，我们担忧更多经纪商会退出，以至于没有足够多的银行支持这一产品，使其无法进行交易，”一家美国资产管理公司的交易主管说。
The benefits of a vibrant credit derivatives market include providing investors with a way to insure their portfolios against credit risk while also bolstering the trading of corporate bonds. The challenge of reviving single-name CDS appears substantial, however, given how banks have pulled away from supporting fixed income markets due to tougher capital and risk standards demanded by regulators since the crisis.
富有活力的信用衍生品市场带来的好处包括，为投资者提供一种为资产组合投保以抵御信用风险的方法，同时促进企业债券的交易。然而，由于金融危机后监管机构收紧了资本金要求并提出了更高的风险标准，银行纷纷不再支持固定收益产品市场，使得复苏单一名称CDS的挑战看来十分巨大。
The solution touted by banks, asset managers and hedge funds is the broad adoption of central clearing. This has been the cornerstone of regulatory efforts after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and bailout of AIG in 2008 highlighted the vulnerability of institutions linked by a complex web of derivative transactions.
银行、资产管理机构和对冲基金宣扬的解决方案是全面采用集中清算。雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)破产及2008年AIG接受的纾困，凸显出由复杂的衍生品交易网络联系起来的金融机构的脆弱性，自那以后，集中清算成为了监管机构各种努力的基石。
At some point US regulators are expected to write rules requiring central clearing for single-name CDS, following similar requirements for index trades.
美国监管机构预计将在未来某时制定规则，要求对单一名称CDS进行集中清算，此前监管机构已对指数交易提出类似要求。
“We want to make sure there is ample liquidity in single-name CDS,” says Supurna VedBrat, co-head of electronic trading and market structure at BlackRock. “For dealers, trading CDS bilaterally is very capital intensive, and by moving it into a cleared framework, it is more capital efficient. It is a viable alternative to follow to preserve trading in the product.” By reducing capital requirements for banks, via centralised clearing, the hope is that single-name CDS become popular, helping improve broader credit market liquidity.
“我们希望确保单一名称CDS市场具有足够的流动性，”贝莱德(BlackRock)电子交易和市场结构联席主管苏普尔娜•韦布拉特(Supurna VedBrat)表示。“对经纪商来说，进行CDS的双边交易需要投入大量资本，而将其转移到一个更为简洁的框架下，资本利用将更为高效。这是维护此产品交易的可行替代办法。”通过集中化清算降低银行的资本要求，有望使单一名称CDS更受欢迎，有助于改善更大范围内的信用市场的流动性。
“If people want to offload some of their risk, they are often not finding the liquidity to do it,” says Hussein Dbouk, head of CDS trading at HSBC. “CDS can be used as an effective credit risk management tool. Better liquidity in single-name CDS will be beneficial for credit investors.”
“如果人们希望卸下一些风险，他们通常找不到流动性去这么做，”汇丰银行(HSBC) CDS交易主管侯赛因•德布卡(Hussein Dbouk)称，“CDS可以作为一个有效的信用风险管理工具来使用。单一名称CDS流动性的改善将有利于信贷投资者。”
Intercontinental Exchange, a credit clearing house, has seen an influx of institutional or buyside investors this year, adding 12 firms since January to the 18 already established.
信贷清算机构美国洲际交易所(Intercontinental Exchange)今年已经见证了机构或买方投资者的涌入，自1月起已经有12家公司加入了原有18家公司的行列。
But not all buyside firms are convinced. The main objection is the increased cost for investors using the service. Even when trading over the counter, most firms now post initial margin — collateral intended to cover losses should a counterparty default.
但并非所有买方公司都相信集中清算。主要反对之处在于投资者使用该服务的成本日益增加。即便进行场外交易，绝大多数公司如今也要提交初始保证金——即一旦对方违约用来弥补损失的抵押品。
“It comes down to a simple math problem of whether I have to post more or less margin by moving to clearing,” says one senior executive at a large US credit hedge fund. “I don’t think this will happen until single-name OTC trades are mandated to have a higher margin than cleared ones.”
“这就归结到一个简单的数学问题——如果进行集中清算，我必须增加还是减少保证金，”美国一家大型信贷对冲基金的高管称，“在单一名称CDS的场外交易被要求收取的保证金高于集中清算之前，我认为集中清算不会发生。”
A sticking point, however, is that the actual amount of initial margin for a non-cleared swap is typically less than that required by a clearing house.
然而，关键在于，非集中清算的互换协议的初始保证金实际数额，通常少于清算机构要求的数额。
“My biggest concern is the margin on selling protection, which at times can be 100 per cent of the trade,” says Michael O’Brien, director of global trading at Eaton Vance. “That is a deal-breaker. That has to be solved.”
“我最大的顾虑是出售这种保险要交的保证金，有时可以达到交易金额的100%，”亿廷繁世(Eaton Vance)全球交易总监迈克尔•奥布莱恩(Michael O’Brien)称，“这是一个破坏交易的问题，必须解决。”
New international rules mandating standardised margin requirements for bilateral trades will increase the cost of trading bilaterally, encouraging firms to undertake clearing. The rules have recently been given an extended implementation date to September 2016.
新的国际规则对双边交易设定了标准化的保证金要求，这将增加双边交易的成本，鼓励公司进行集中清算。新规的实施日期最近已经延长至2016年9月。
But requiring firms to pay more to trade with no guarantee of better credit market liquidity is questionable for some.
但是，对于一些人来说，在不能保证改善信贷市场流动性的情况下，要求公司支付更多交易成本，值得商榷。
“It’s a big ‘if’ whether this will make a difference. I’m torn about what to do,” says the derivatives trading head at a US credit hedge fund.
“无论是否会带来不同，这都是一个很重要的假设条件。我很犹豫，不知道该怎么办，”美国一家信贷对冲基金的衍生品交易主管称。
Broad market participation is integral to reviving single-name CDS via centralised clearing. If only a few clients opt for clearing their positions, dealers could find themselves clearing some client trades and not clearing others, splitting their book and potentially increasing costs further.
广泛的市场参与是通过集中清算复苏单一名称CDS市场不可或缺的条件。如果只有少数客户选择集中清算头寸，经纪商会发现自己只为部分客户交易提供清算，而没有为其他交易提供清算，因此得分开记账，并且可能进一步增加成本。