One could be forgiven for assuming that creating central counterparties to trades is the only way to mitigate risk in the over-the-counter credit derivatives market, after a flood of recent proposals for new clearing services.

Netting and collateralisation have long been used to beneficial effect and they will doubtless continue to be deployed in the market alongside the collapsing and compression mechanisms that have been gaining traction and recognition, complementing the growing array of CCP cleared facilities on offer.