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There is a privilege between an attorney and her client, which is generally sacrosanct, meaning that law enforcement or a counterparty cannot pierce it and cannot generally gain access, through discovery or other means, to communications between a client and an attorney.

"Participation in centrally cleared transactions can significantly reduce this counterparty risk," it said.

Central counterparty clearing houses such as those operated by CME Group, the world's largest derivatives exchange operator, and the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, currently the chief clearer of Treasuries, can "dynamically and prudently increase collateral requirements when markets dislocate," said Moody's.

A counterparty's failure could put their hedges and the collateral that secures them in jeopardy.

Since then investors across the board have been sharpening their scrutiny of banks and strengthening their cash-management guidelines to plug the gaps exposed in their approach to counterparty risk and liquidity management.