The adage ‘build it and they will come’ wouldn’t seem to apply to the credit derivatives market.

Automated trading and execution of credit default swaps, both single-name and more widely traded indexes, is a rarity among buy-side firms. Yet experts point out that the ingredients for greater automation exist: the contracts are standardized, liquid, and can be traded on electronic platforms.

It’s a jarring contrast with the corporate bond market, where electronic trading and algorithmic