The statement from the article is basically true. Credit derivatives can be useful to transfer risk from one party to another and may make the financial system slightly more efficient but if they ceased to exist the world would continue pretty much the same. You could argue that the net real effect of derivatives is to transfer money from the real economy to the pockets of bankers and derivative traders and so the overall effect of being rid of them would increase global wealth as some of the former traders would spend time trying to form tech startups instead of trying to get money from your pension fund into their pockets by selling said funds derivative contracts.