Tags: ken griffin | citadel | u.s. | default | insurance | credit | default

Ken Griffin Alarmed by Cost of US Default Insurance

Ken Griffin Alarmed by Cost of US Default Insurance
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin speaks during the Semafor World Economy Summit 2025, April 23, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Thursday, 05 June 2025 11:00 AM EDT

Citadel's founder and CEO Ken Griffin said Thursday it is "unfathomable" that a financial instrument to protect against an eventual U.S. default is being priced at levels close to some European countries.

"I never thought in my life I would see the U.S. priced higher in risk cost than a number of countries like Spain, Germany or France," he said at the Forbes Iconoclast Summit. "You gotta be kidding me."

Griffin said the credit default swap (CDS) market has some issues with liquidity which impact prices, but still he considered that conversations around how close the swaps are trading are "unfathomable."

Spreads on U.S. five-year CDS – market-based gauges of the risk of a sovereign default – stood at 48 basis points on Thursday, compared to 50 basis points (bps) for Italy, 32 bps for Spain and 35 bps for France, S&P Global Market Intelligence data showed.

U.S. sovereign CDS spreads widened to their highest since the debt ceiling crisis of 2023 in recent weeks.

The move in the spreads of U.S. credit default swaps comes amid concerns around the country's fiscal deficit and negotiations over a tax bill that is estimated to add more than $2 trillion to the U.S. debt.

Griffin did not specifically comment on the bill, but criticized the U.S. fiscal deficit.

"The United States' fiscal house is not in order. You cannot run deficits of six or 7% at full employment after years of growth. That's just fiscally irresponsible," he said.

© 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


StreetTalk
Citadel's founder and CEO Ken Griffin said Thursday it is "unfathomable" that a financial instrument to protect against an eventual U.S. default is being priced at levels close to some European countries.
ken griffin, citadel, u.s., default, insurance, credit, default, swaps
246
2025-00-05
Thursday, 05 June 2025 11:00 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
Newsmax2 Live
 
On Now:2:00p ET • The Chris Salcedo Weekend
Coming Up:3:00p ET • Rob Schmitt This Week
Get Newsmax Text Alerts

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved