The declines – which signal further potential writedowns by banks – are fuelling fears that the first quarter of this year could herald further pain for the financial system, even as many banks reveal sharp losses for the fourth quarter of 2008.
After several weeks of stabilisation and even some improvement, there have been renewed falls this week in the value of securities linked to subprime mortgages, leveraged loans and commercial mortgages.
The Markit ABX index for triple-A rated securities backed by subprime loans has dropped 13 per cent in the past week. The Markit CMBX index for triple-A rated securities backed by commercial mortgages was also down 14.5 per cent in the past week.