Derivatives market faces biggest test

The $54,000bn credit derivatives market faces its biggest test in October as billions of dollars worth of contracts on now-defaulted derivatives on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual are settled.

It's notable that the credit derivatives market has been the source of not a sudden implosion, but something of a slow and steady fizzle. It turns out that the very non-standard, and non-exchange-traded properties of derivatives that has been so worrisome actually keeps things from happening too suddenly. So that is a good thing. However, it does not eliminate the ultimate need of most participants to take losses -- and it is bad in the sense that it drags the "crisis" on for longer.