A Credit Default Swap (CDS) is a financial instrument for hedging credit risk. By buying a CDS, a market participant hedges certain risks arising from credit relationships in exchange for a premium, which is referred to as a CDS Level. The higher the level, the higher the default risk estimated by the market for the issuer.
The following graph shows the development of Henkel’s five-year CDS compared to the CDS index iTraxx Europe with the same maturity. This index encompasses 125 major European companies. Henkel’s default risk is estimated constantly lower than the average risk of these companies.