ABX Index

What Is the ABX Index?

The ABX Index is an index that addresses 20 subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). The Index, made by market intelligence firm Markit, is utilized as a financial benchmark measuring the overall value and performance of the subprime residential mortgage market.

How the ABX Index Works

The ABX Index uses credit default swaps in its construction to give an index that is representative of the subprime RMBS market. Values have gone from 50 to roughly 100, with daily pricing just accessible for market subscribers. The Index is likewise be known as the Markit ABX Home Equity Index, the ABX.HE Index, or the asset-backed securities index.

The ABX Index utilizes credit default swaps (CDS) on the 20 biggest subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) chose for the Index. The Index has six sub-indexes that address differing levels of credit quality among different RMBS tranches. It looks to give a representative comparison of a scope of subprime credit in the market.

Top issuers consistently addressed in the Index incorporate Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Wachovia.

The Index is reconstituted semi-every year on two roll dates, January 19 and July 19, or the next business day following each date. Markit fills in as the administrator of the Index and surveys all market issuance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities in the prior six months for inclusion in the next roll date. Markit then recognizes the relating credit default swaps traded on fourth market exchanges for inclusion in the Index.

Special Considerations: Indicators

Values for the ABX Index are calculated daily and given to Index subscribers. In 2007, just before the level of the financial crisis, the Index was reported at 55. Its value has acquired consistently from that point forward running up to around 100.

Expansions in the level of the ABX Index show a well-performing RMBS market. Critical declines in the Index and lower Index values are a warning sign for high risk. Since the ABX Index is a rare example of leading market indicators in the subprime RMBS market, it is involved extensively by institutional investors and traders as a check for risk and value levels of subprime RMBS. The subtleties of the Index are not uncovered publicly, requiring trading gatherings to license the Index data from Markit to involve it as a consistent resource for deciding market trades.

Highlights

• The ABX Index tracks a basket of the 20 biggest residential MBS.
• It is utilized as a barometer for market wellbeing inside the subprime residential land sector.
• Albeit illustrative of its assortment of subprime mortgage-backed securities, the Index ought not be the main indicator for overall market conditions.
• The Index is refreshed two times every year.