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| "CPDOs have performed exactly as we expected them to given current market conditions" |
Not for the first time, constant proportion dynamic obligations (CPDO) have come under serious fire. Ever since it appeared on the structured credit scene a year ago, CPDO technology has drawn strong criticism for various reasons. One of the latest salvos came from independent credit research team CreditSights. Speaking at the IMN’s European structured credit and CDO conference in September, CreditSights analyst David Watts argued that the dynamics surrounding the roll into the new series of credit indices were extremely perilous for CPDOs. "By having such a large number of names downgraded to below investment grade in the two indices [CDX & iTraxx] there has been a great deal of spread widening, which has caused mark-to-market losses for CPDOs. Ordinarily, spread widenings, while causing a loss for CPDOs, would also allow the instrument to earn more spread premium when it rolls into the latest index. However, because the downgraded names need to be removed from the indices the CPDO endures the mark-to-market losses but does not have the opportunity to recoup those losses.
