fix it. the whole idea of credit default swaps may seem a little daunting, but greedy bastards are loving that thing. swaps are an unregulated insurance policy. they re an insurance policy that bets on whether people, businesses, or even countries will default on some future stream of loan payments. it s like a way to bet on whether a country or anybody will pay their bills. it s made a little more complex because the bets are made in secret. we can t see who bet what with who. and if you re a aaa rated financial institution like a jpmorgan, you don t have to put any money down when you bet. and now the global swaps market equals $700 trillion worth of debt. a lot would cancel themselves out if they were in public. investor bankers created the idea of the swaps back in the 90s, so they could, a, sneak around the strict regulations on normal insurance, car health insurance, life insurance, credit insurance for some reason