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A credit crunch is the opposite, in which interest rates rise and lending practices tighten. Easy credit conditions mean that funds are readily available to borrowers, which results in asset prices rising if the loaned funds are used to buy assets in a particular market, such as real estate or stocks.
In finance, a credit spread, or net credit spread is an options strategy that involves a purchase of one option and a sale of another option in the same class and expiration but different strike prices. It is designed to make a profit when the spreads between the two options narrows.
In finance, the yield spread or credit spread is the difference between the quoted rates of return on two different investments, usually of different credit qualities but similar maturities. It is often an indication of the risk premium for one investment product over another. The phrase is a compound of yield and spread.
The lower the credit rating, the higher the spread, thus reflecting the extra yield premium demanded for greater risk. Using this model we can describe returns of, say, an A-rated security in terms of movements in the AAA curve, plus movements (tightening or widening) in the credit spread.
For an MBS, the word "option" in option-adjusted spread relates primarily to the right of property owners, whose mortgages back the security, to prepay the mortgage amount. Since mortgage borrowers will tend to exercise this right when it is favourable for them and unfavourable for the bond-holder, buying an MBS implicitly involves selling an ...
The spread between the LIBOR (or swap) rate and the government bond yield of similar maturity is usually positive, meaning that private borrowing is at a premium above government borrowing. This spread is a measure of the difference in the risk tolerances of the lenders to the two types of borrowing.
For example, if the current market rate for a five-year swap is 1.35 percent and the current yield on the five-year Treasury note is 1.33 percent, the five-year swap spread would be 0.02 percentage points, or 2 basis points. [2] [3] Often, fixed income prices will be quoted in "SWAPS +", wherein the swap rate is added to a given number of basis ...
Credit tightening: Restrictions on credit availability also known as credit crunch, can reduce consumer spending and business investment, leading to a slowdown in economic activity. Interest rate distortions: Artificially low interest rates can encourage excessive borrowing and result in a buildup of risk in the financial sector. When interest ...