Italian sovereign, banks CDS jump on coronavirus threat

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – The cost of insuring exposure to debt issued by Italy’s government and some of its lenders rose on Wednesday on fears over the economic toll the coronavirus spread could take on the country’s economy.

Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Italy’s sovereign debt added 2 basis points (bps) from Tuesday’s close to 116 bps, the highest level in four weeks, according to data from IHS Markit.

Two of the country’s banks, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo , both saw their CDS rise by 4 bps to 78 bps, trading at their highest since mid-January and late January respectively. (Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)

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