What happens when Lyondell Bassell defaults with CDS protection?

Filed under: International markets, Recession, Financial Crisis

Lyondell Basell is the world's third largest petrochemical group. In January Lyondell put its U.S. units into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and missed its regular coupon payment of $680 million of 2015 European bonds. It was given a 30-day grace period that ran out this week. Then all hell broke loose.

Holders of the debt, including investment banks, had to vote to decide if Lyondell was in default. They voted "yes" on Friday. Now those who sold the credit default protection must come up with payment to cover losses on Lyondell bonds.

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