Cyber cat bonds issued over the last year are trading above par, “(a)n indication that these bonds are sought after in the secondary market and have not seen spread widening, but in fact have seen spreads tightening,” Dirk Schmelzer, Head Portfolio Manager ILS/CAT Bonds and Partner at Plenum Investments AG, told Artemis, a provider of information on bonds, ILS and Re topics.
“The fact the cyber cat bonds have held their price far better than many natural catastrophe bonds through the recent period of spread widening also indicates continued demand from investors for this type of risk,” Artemis concluded.
In an earlier research report, Plenum predicted cyber cat bonds — which have only emerged over the last year and now cover < $500m in risk over a handful of issuances — will need to become more granular and differentiated to grow beyond the size potential of current structures (est. by Plenum at $1-2bn), as did weather cat bonds in their early years. Such differentiation could include coverage limited to specific types of cyber attacks or certain geographic boundaries regions. “This will also mean that cyber CAT Bonds will most likely cover a broader risk spectrum in future and not just extreme/far tail risks as well as enable the broader use of such bonds in portfolios with different risk and return positioning. We consider this a logical development that we look forward to,” stated the report.