Derivatives

Abstract

The exponential growth of derivatives is in part a consequence of the profound changes brought about by the financial deregulation process that began forty years ago and the massive accumulation and concentration of wealth that it has produced. But, at the same time, derivatives are an important engine of change in the financial world. Their great potential for speculation and the high leverage that can be achieved with these operations, permit very high profits as well as severe losses. In the current financial crisis credit derivatives play a key role in speculative assaults against sovereign debt.