Risk.net
Vanishing liquidity, the Ronin collapse, XVAs – the pandemic wreaked havoc in risk transfer markets
The Covid-19 pandemic brought the financial system to the brink in 2020. Lockdowns turned cities into ghost towns overnight and economic activity ground to a halt. From hastily assembled home offices, market participants faced one crisis after another: equity volatility surged; the US Treasury market seized-up; and oil futures turned negative.
At times, it felt like a year-long crisis was being squeezed into six weeks. CME Group pulled the plug on one of the world’s largest proprietary trading firms. Dealers incurred heavy losses in their structured products books. Some hedge funds were unable to see out the turmoil.