
Fabozzi, Frank J. - The Handbook of Fixed-Income Securities, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill Escreveu:Credit-Linked Notes:
A Credit-linked note (CLN) is a common emerging markets asset that offers investors credit exposure to an issuer in a structure resembling a synthetic corporate bond or loan but tipically with a higher spread. Similar to a bond, a CLN allows an investor to take credit risk on a bond in return for payment of interest and repayment of par. A common structure is issuance by a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) that holds collateral securities financed through the issuance proceeds. The credit-derivative CLNs are created by embedding credit derivatives in an SPV.
The CLN has three main components: the SPV, the collateral, and the credit default swap. The issuance proceeds from the CLN are used by the SPV to purchase preagreed collateral to fund the CDS. The SPV simultaneously enters into a CDS with a highly rated swap counterparty (such a dealer), whereby it sells credit protection in return for receiving an ongoing premium. The SPV grants a secutiry interest in the collateral against the SPV's future performance under the preceding default swap. The SPV also may need to enter into an interest-rate swap (or a cross-currency swap) to reduce interest-rate risk and to tailor the required cash flows of the note. The package is a CLN that performs similarly to a sovereign bond.
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