Doom and Gloom at Derivatives Conference

There aren't a lot of champagne corks popping at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association annual meeting in Boston.

Kicking off the conference, Bank of America C.E.O. Kenneth Lewis told the attendees that the industry should prepare for a "systemic meltdown," according to Marketwatch.

And European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet (above) didn't exactly lighten the mood with his comments. Investors "may react in a way that can suddenly lead to dangerous herding behavior," he said, according to Bloomberg News. "The fear is that a large proportion of market participants may have become excessively complacent."

The risk in the credit derivatives market is a hot topic these days. Just a decade old, it's the fastest growing financial market and already represents trillions of dollars of obligations.

Should it be more regulated? Will a meltdown cause a financial crisis in markets around the world? What did we learn from Long Term Capital Management and Amaranth?

These questions are being bandied about on our own pages between Conde Nast Portfolio senior writer Jesse Eisinger and Portfolio.com blogger Felix Salmon.

After a cocktail reception and dinner tonight, attendees of the Boston conference will head over to a lounge for an after-hours party until the wee hours. No word yet on whether the opening remarks from this morning's session will be matched by hangovers during tomorrow's.

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