Strong growth continued in credit derivatives markets in the second half of last year in spite of the upheaval in financial markets, which led to a near trebling in the gross value of such contracts as rates spiked.

Notional volumes in credit default swaps, which provide a kind of insurance against corporate default, increased 36 per cent to $57,894bn in the six months to the end of December, out-stripping growth for all over-the-counter derivatives, the Bank for International Settlements said on Thursday.