What Is ‘Counterparty Risk’ and Why Is It Higher in Forward Contracts?
Counterparty risk is the risk that one party to a financial contract will fail to fulfill their contractual obligations. This risk is higher in forward contracts because they are private, over-the-counter (OTC) agreements that lack a central clearing house to guarantee performance.
If one party defaults, the other party bears the full loss, unlike in standardized futures contracts where the clearing house mitigates this risk.