Clarus FT reports September 2025 as a record month for CDS trading activity, highlighting regional shifts, increased sovereign engagement, and evolving credit risk management strategies amid a more selective market landscape.
According to the original report from Clarus FT, September 2025 saw the customary CDS market peak, with single-name activity concentrated in sovereigns and corporates and notable shifts in ranking across regions. US SEC Securities Based Swap Data Repository (SBSDR) filings show Argentina led USD sovereign CDS trades with 780 reported transactions, followed by Colombia (468), Brazil (404), Mexico (325) and China (311). Clarus FT notes rank movements were pronounced month‑on‑month and half‑on‑half, with Argentina the largest half‑year gainer and Australia, China and Germany among the biggest monthly risers. Industry data shows EUR‑denominated sovereign trades remained sparse, with the US traded only intermittently in EUR during 2025, reflecting hedging dynamics tied to currency and downgrade risk.
According to the original report, US corporate single‑name CDS activity over 50 trades in September was led by Ford (171 trades), with Oracle (113), Verizon (96), Whirlpool (95) and CCO Holdings (94) completing the top five. Clarus FT highlights large month‑on‑month ascents for names including Whirlpool and Verizon and lists a broader set of MoM risers such as Devon Energy, Goldman Sachs and Freeport McMoRan, signalling heightened investor repositioning around sector‑level credit views and idiosyncratic corporate events.
Clarus FT’s analysis of EU corporates shows Stellantis topping activity with 91 trades, followed by Kering, BNP, SES and Intesa, while Japanese single‑name volumes remained modest by comparison; SoftBank and Rakuten led Japan’s reported activity. The report places these name‑level moves in the context of broader market flows and structural reporting features , notably the SBSDR $5m notional cap that leads Clarus FT to rank by trade count rather than gross notional.
Putting name activity into volume context, Clarus FT reports US‑reported single‑name CDS exceeded 20,600 trades in September 2025 , a monthly peak but down 14% year‑on‑year and 16% versus March 2025 , with corporates accounting for over 15,300 trades and sovereigns rising materially. Global cleared single‑name activity, using CCPView, exceeded 36,000 trades in September, down 9% YoY and 17% HoH, while cleared sovereign trades rose sharply year‑on‑year. Clarus FT observes US SDR reporting typically captures about half of global single‑name volume.
Market participants’ broader September activity aligns with other industry metrics. Tradeweb reported record total trading volume across listed and OTC venues in September 2025, driven by broad client engagement across rates, credit, equities and money markets. CME Group said credit futures volumes and open interest reached new highs in early September, reflecting growing use of duration‑hedged credit instruments. ISDA’s regional analysis for H1 2025 corroborates elevated single‑name activity in key jurisdictions, while FIA and CoinDesk volume reports show contrasting strength in traditional and crypto derivatives markets during the month.
Taken together, the data portray a market that remains active but more selective: single‑name CDS peaks persist in March and September, sovereign trading has gained share year‑on‑year, and corporate single‑name volumes have softened versus prior periods even as trading concentration shifts across issuers. The company said in a statement accompanying the Clarus FT analysis that ranking by trade count offers a clearer signal of market interest where notional caps obscure gross exposures, and industry data shows participants continue to favour a mix of cleared futures and bilateral CDS to manage credit risk.
- https://www.clarusft.com/volumes-and-most-active-names-in-credit-derivatives-september-2025/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=volumes-and-most-active-names-in-credit-derivatives-september-2025 – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.clarusft.com/volumes-and-most-active-names-in-credit-derivatives-september-2025/ – This article analyses the most actively traded issuer names in credit default swaps (CDS) reported to US SEC Securities Based Swap Data Repositories (SBSDRs) for September 2025. It provides detailed tables and charts on USD CDS on sovereigns, US corporates, EU corporates, and Japanese corporates, highlighting the top traded names and their respective trade counts. The article also discusses overall single-name volumes, including US SDR-reported and global cleared single-name CDS trade counts, offering insights into market trends and trading activity during the period.
- https://www.tradeweb.com/newsroom/media-center/news-releases/tradeweb-reports-record-september-2025-total-trading-volume-of-63-7-trillion-and-record-average-daily-volume-of-2-9-trillion – Tradeweb Markets Inc. reported record total trading volume for September 2025, reaching $63.7 trillion, with an average daily volume of $2.9 trillion, marking a 10.0% increase year-over-year. The report highlights strong client engagement across various asset classes, including rates, credit, equities, and money markets, and notes that September was active across all asset classes, contributing to the strong momentum in the third quarter.
- https://investor.cmegroup.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cme-group-credit-futures-reach-new-volume-and-open-interest – CME Group announced that trading volume in its investment grade and high yield credit futures surpassed 450,000 contracts, with open interest reaching 6,800 contracts on September 4, 2025. The growth reflects strong market adoption of CME’s duration-hedged contracts, which enable investors to manage credit risk through intercommodity spreads with U.S. Treasury futures, providing a cost-effective hedging solution for corporate bond indexes.
- https://www.isda.org/a/KEBgE/Credit-Derivatives-Trading-Activity-EU-UK-and-US-Q2-2025.pdf – This report analyses credit derivatives trading activity in the EU, UK, and US markets for the first half of 2025 and the second quarter of 2025. It provides insights into the distribution of credit default swap (CDS) traded notional across regions, highlighting the UK’s dominance in single-name CDS activity and comparing European-reported credit derivatives trading activity to that reported in the US.
- https://www.fia.org/fia/articles/etd-volume-september-2025 – The FIA’s report on exchange-traded derivatives (ETD) volume for September 2025 reveals that worldwide volume reached 10.96 billion contracts, a 13.4% increase from August 2025 but a 45.2% decrease from September 2024. The report highlights a significant decline in options trading, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, while futures trading saw an 8% increase from the same month last year.
- https://www.coindesk.com/research/exchange-review-september-2025 – CoinDesk’s Exchange Review for September 2025 indicates a 17.5% decline in overall crypto trading volumes, despite record open interest. The report highlights significant growth in Coinbase Institutional and Coinbase International volumes, with increases of 147% and 43.0% respectively. It also notes that CME maintained a strong position in open interest rankings, trailing only Binance in market share.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative is based on a press release from Clarus FT dated December 3, 2025, discussing September 2025 data. This high freshness score is warranted as the content is recent and directly relevant to the current date. No evidence of recycled or outdated information was found.
Quotes check
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative does not contain direct quotes. The data presented is original and specific to the September 2025 period, with no evidence of reused or previously published quotes.
Source reliability
Score:
9
Notes:
The narrative originates from Clarus Financial Technology, a reputable organisation known for its data analysis in the financial sector. While Clarus FT is a specialised firm, it is considered a reliable source within its domain.
Plausability check
Score:
10
Notes:
The claims made in the narrative are consistent with other industry reports and data. For example, CME Group reported record credit futures volumes in early September 2025, aligning with the heightened activity in credit derivatives noted in the narrative. The data presented is specific, detailed, and corroborated by other reputable sources.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narrative is fresh, original, and sourced from a reputable organisation. The claims are plausible and supported by corroborating data from other reputable sources. No significant credibility risks were identified.