CDS glossary
CDS here means credit default swap — the credit-derivatives contract whose settlement turns on credit events, deliverable obligations and their characteristics. Every term below is one CDSBench tests: the definition is the one the benchmark uses, and each entry links to the verified questions, historical cases and model results behind it. 296 verified questions across 11 categories.
What CDSBench tests
One entry per benchmark category. Accuracy is the average across the ranked frontier models on the current benchmark version; Mastermind is never included in that average.
- Fact extraction
Reading a single stated fact from the record — an issuer, a date, a denomination — without inference.
56 verified questions · frontier models average 88% accuracy · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Maturity
Determining an obligation's maturity and testing it against the maximum-maturity characteristic, including amended or extended maturities.
26 verified questions · frontier models average 100% accuracy · rule applied: Maximum Maturity · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Currency
Identifying the currency of denomination and testing the specified-currency characteristic, including redenominations and multi-currency series.
28 verified questions · frontier models average 100% accuracy · rule applied: Specified Currency · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Seniority
Determining ranking (senior, subordinated, secured) from the terms, and testing the not-subordinated characteristic.
30 verified questions · frontier models average 100% accuracy · rule applied: Not Subordinated · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Transferability
Deciding whether an obligation is transferable without consent, including transfer restrictions buried in exchange-offer or restructuring terms.
30 verified questions · frontier models average 83% accuracy · rules applied: Not Bearer, Transferable · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Multi-document
Reconciling documents that disagree — a supplement that amends terms, a notice that contradicts a prospectus — and identifying which governs.
2 verified questions · frontier models average 100% accuracy · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Deliverability
The full deliverable-obligation analysis: every characteristic tested together on one instrument and one credit event.
30 verified questions · frontier models average 77% accuracy · rule applied: Not Contingent · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Uncertainty
Recognising when the record does not settle the question, and abstaining rather than guessing.
32 verified questions · frontier models average 69% accuracy · rule applied: Required fields present · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Restructuring
Applying the restructuring credit-event definition to what actually happened: binding on all holders, deterioration in creditworthiness, the listed changes.
2 verified questions · frontier models average 67% accuracy · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Entity match
Matching the obligor in the documents to the reference entity, including successor and guarantor questions.
30 verified questions · frontier models average 98% accuracy · rule applied: Issuer matches Reference Entity · cases, hardest questions and model results →
- Evidence
Citing the sections of the record that actually support the answer, and no others.
30 verified questions · frontier models average 33% accuracy · cases, hardest questions and model results →
Deterministic rules
The deliverable-obligation characteristics Mastermind checks by rule rather than by model judgement. Each rule is versioned; its validation status says how far it has been checked against real outcomes. These are CDSBench’s working definitions, not legal advice — the governing text is the relevant ISDA definitions and the transaction documents.
| Rule | What it tests | Category | Version | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Maturity | The obligation must mature no later than the maximum maturity (default 30 years) measured from the reference date. | Maturity | 1.0 | Provisional |
| Specified Currency | The obligation must be denominated in a Specified Currency. | Currency | 1.0 | Provisional |
| Not Subordinated | The obligation must not be subordinated to the reference obligation / senior unsecured debt. | Seniority | 1.0 | Provisional |
| Not Bearer | The obligation must not be a bearer instrument unless cleared through a recognised clearing system. | Transferability | 1.0 | Provisional |
| Not Contingent | Principal must not be reducible by reason of contingencies other than payment. | Deliverability | 1.0 | Provisional |
| Transferable | The obligation must be transferable to institutional investors without consent (interpretation of transfer restrictions is outside the deterministic layer). | Transferability | 1.0 | Provisional |
| Issuer matches Reference Entity | The obligation issuer must be the Reference Entity (or a recognised successor). | Entity match | 1.0 | Provisional |
| Required fields present | Core fields (issuer, currency, maturity, seniority) must be established before a deliverability conclusion. | Uncertainty | 1.0 | Provisional |
How the questions are verified and scored: Methodology → · What the corpus contains: Dataset → · Every category with live numbers: Benchmark categories →