Par Spread
The annual premium (quoted in basis points of notional per year) that makes the present value of expected protection payments equal the present value of expected default payments on a CDS, given an assumed recovery rate. Textbook approximation: par spread approximately equals PD x (1 - recovery), where PD is the annualized default probability. For a 200 bp CDS with 40% recovery the implied annualized PD is roughly 200 / (1 - 0.40) / 10000 = 3.33%. Real dealer pricing uses survival-probability curves calibrated across multiple maturities rather than the single flat approximation.
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Related terms
American Option · Asian Option · Barrier Option · Basket Option · Butterfly Spread · Calendar Spread
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