Abstract
US corporate credit default swap (CDS) spreads have significantly increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This paper shows that the magnitude of the pandemic measured by the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths both in the US and globally are positively linked to the CDS spreads, an effect both economically and statistically significant. However, there is a significant heterogenous effects across sectors, in which banking, travel & leisure, transportation, airlines, and restaurants are the hardest hit sectors. The analysis also documents that the COVID-19 pandemic increases corporate CDS spreads via increased firms’ distress levels transmission channels.