Credit Futures
Precisely manage credit exposure using the efficiency and liquidity of futures markets.
Liquidity and efficiency, now in the corporate credit market
Optimize your hedging strategy with our suite of U.S. Credit Index futures. Trade the contracts on our electronic order book or bilaterally in both total return and duration-hedged strategies, all with market-leading margin offsets that are only available from the world’s largest derivatives exchange.
Quick links
Why trade Credit futures?
More efficient exposure
Trade with all-to-all electronic liquidity, low tracking error and zero management fees or ISDA agreements.
A broad offering across USD credit
Manage your risk with nine contracts across the USD credit market, covering IG and HY corporate bonds, EM sovereign bonds and leveraged loans.
Increased trading possibilities
Trade Total Return or Duration-Hedged contracts, or apply Inter-Commodity Spreads (ICS) strategies against Treasury futures, to help manage IG and HY credit exposure.
Choices for managing credit exposure in the futures market
| Investment Grade | High Yield | Duration Hedged Investment Grade | Duration Hedged High Yield | Emerging Market | 1-5 Year Maturity Investment Grade | 5-10 Year Maturity Investment Grade | 10+ Year Maturity Investment Grade | S&P UBS USD Liquid Leveraged Loan Index futures | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product code |
Outright: IQB |
Outright: HYB |
Outright: DHB |
Outright: DHY |
Outright: DLB | Outright: IQS | Outright: IQY | Outright: IQL | Outright: LVE | |
| Underlying index | Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Index | Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield Very Liquid Index | Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Duration Hedged Index | Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield Very Liquid Duration Hedged Index | Bloomberg Emerging Market USD Sovereign and Sovereign Owned Index | Bloomberg 1-5 Year Maturity Investment Grade Corporate Credit Index | Bloomberg 5-10 Year Maturity Investment Grade Corporate Credit Index | Bloomberg 10+ Year Maturity Investment Grade Corporate Credit Index | S&P UBS USD Liquid Leveraged Loan Index | |
| Contract unit | 30 x Index points | 150 x Index points | 500 x Index points | 750 x Index points | 200 x index points | 200 x index points | 300 x index points | 150 x index points | 100 x index | |
| Minimum Price Fluctuation | Globex | Outright: 0.50 index points = $15.00 BTIC: 0.25 index points = $7.50 Calendar Spread: 0.25 index points = $7.50 |
Outright: 0.10 index points = $15.00 BTIC: 0.05 index points = $7.50 Calendar Spread: 0.05 index points = $7.50 |
Outright: 0.05 index points = $25.00 Calendar Spread: 0.025 index points = $12.50 |
Outright: 0.02 index points = $15 Calendar spread: 0.01 index points = $7.50 |
Outright: 0.02 index points = $4.00 | Outright: 0.05 index points = $10.00 | Outright: 0.05 index points = $15.00 | Outright: 0.05 index points = $7.50 | 0.1 index points ($10 per contract) |
| ClearPort | Outright & Calendar Spread: 0.01 index points = $0.30 BTIC: 0.25 index points = $7.50 |
Outright & Calendar Spread: 0.01 index points = $1.50 BTIC: 0.05 index points = $7.50 |
Outright & Calendar Spread: 0.01 index points = $5.00 | Outright: 0.01 index points = $7.50 | Outright: 0.01 index points = $2.00 | Outright: 0.01 index points = $2.00 | Outright: 0.01 index points = $3.00 | Outright: 0.01 index points = $1.50 | 0.01 index points ($1 per contract) | |
| Settlement | Daily Settle: 0.50 Final Settle: 0.0001 index points = $0.0030 |
Daily Settle: 0.10 Final Settle: 0.0001 index points = $0.015 |
Daily Settle: 0.05 Final Settle: 0.0001 index points = $0.05 |
Daily: 0.02 index points Final: 0.0001 index points = $0.075 |
Daily: 0.02 index points Final: 0.0001 index points = $0.02 |
Daily: 0.02 index points Final: 0.0001 index points = $0.02 |
Daily: 0.03 index points Final: 0.0001 index points = $0.03 |
Daily: 0.015 index points Final: 0.0001 index points = $0.015 |
Financially settled |
|
| Final Settlement Minimum Tick | 0.0001 | |||||||||
| Price Quotation | Index points | Index price | ||||||||
| Listing Schedule | Nearest 3 March quarterly months | Nearest three quarterly months (Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec) | ||||||||
Effective liquidity management
Reduce cash drag or deploy futures as a liquidity sleeve for better cash management.
Portfolio hedging
Manage credit and interest rate risks, taking advantage of low tracking error and futures’ efficiency.
Express a tactical view
Quickly and efficiently employ a tactical overlay or dial in or out of a short-term position.
Relative value strategies
Explore new arbitrage opportunities across other derivatives or exploit bond mispricings.
Research and analysis
Get our experts' perspectives on current trends.
Trade Credit futures on CME Direct
A fast, secure and highly configurable trading front end, CME Direct offers a one-stop shop for accessing Credit futures liquidity. Not on CME Direct? Get started.
Download the Credit futures trading grid
- Right-click on the link and select "Save link as...".
- Save the file as an .XML on your computer.
- In CME Direct, select import view in the main menu.
- Import the grid into CME Direct.
- Under Menu, click on Save Window Layout.
Vendor codes
| Investment Grade | High Yield | Duration Hedged - Investment Grade | Duration Hedged - High Yield | Emerging Markets | 1-5 Year Maturity Investment Grade | 5-10 Year Maturity Investment Grade | 10+ Year Maturity Investment Grade | S&P UBS USD Liquid Leveraged Loan Index futures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CME Globex | IQB | HYB | DHB | DHY | DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL | LVE |
| Bloomberg | Futures: IQBA Index Index: LUACTRUU |
Futures: HYBA Index Index: LHVLTRUU |
Futures: DHBA Index Index: I30287US |
Futures: DHYA Index Index: I39131US |
DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL | LVE |
| CQG | IQB | HYB | DHB | - | DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL | |
| DTN | @IQB | @HYB | @DHB | - | @DLB | @IQS | @IQY | @IQL | |
| Fidessa | IQB | HYB | DHB | DHY | DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL | |
| FIS Global | IQB | HYB | DHB | DHY | DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL | |
| ION Group | IQB | HYB | DHB | DHY | DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL | |
| Itiviti | IQB | HYB | DHB | DHY | DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL | |
| Refinitiv | QIB | BYH | DHB | DHY | Coming soon | Coming soon | Coming soon | Coming soon | |
| TT | IQB | HYB | DHB | DHY | DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL | |
| Vela | IQB | HYB | DHB | DHY | DLB | IQS | IQY | IQL |
Bloomberg terminal analytics
FAIR <GO>
Calculate the future fair value price, implied funding cost, and premium/discount of credit futures or Bloomberg fixed income indices (e.g., IQBU4 Index, FAIR)
PORT <GO>
Analyze performance results, fundamental characteristics, tracking error, scenario analysis, and portfolio optimization.
FICM <GO>
View real-time performance of credit products (cash bonds, ETFs, CDX) and spreads to identify relative value opportunities.
IDRV <GO>
Compare an instrument's credit spread to historical levels, and those of comparable credit products.
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