Credit default swaps are the global lending equivalent of insurance against sovereign debt insolvency. Ironically, these debt instruments are intended to protect countries like Greece and its reckless lending habits, though they have failed to do that and the situation is worsening. Greece has been too slow to act to reverse its course. The problem compounded when the downfall of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers limited Greece’s access to global capital markets. Early warning signs for another financial crisis can be seen in current U.S. policies that must be changed.