We study credit ratings on subprime and Alt-A mortgage-backed securities (MBS) deals issued between 2001 and 2007, the period leading up to the subprime crisis. The fraction of highly-rated securities in each deal is decreasing in mortgage credit risk (measured either ex-ante or ex-post),...

We propose a new method for measuring the quality of banks credit portfolios. This method makes use of information impounded in bank share prices by exploiting differences in their sensitivity to credit default swap spreads of borrowers of varying quality. The method allows us to derive a credit...

In this paper we present a framework for backtesting all currently popular risk measurement methods (including value-at-risk and expected shortfall) using the functional delta method.Estimation risk can be taken explicitly into account.Based on a simulation study we provide evidence that tests...

Although there is a broad literature on structural credit risk models, there has been little empirical testing of these models.In this paper we examine the term structure of credit spreads on euro corporate bonds and the empirical validation of structural credit risk models.The latter provide a...

In this paper we test several risk management models for computing expected shortfall for one-period hedge errors of hedged derivatives positions.Contrary to value-at-risk, expected shortfall cannot be tested using the standard binomial test, since we need information of the distribution in the...

Regulatory Capital requirements for European banks have been put forward in the Basel II Capital Framework and subsequently in the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) of the EU. We provide a detailed discussion of the capital requirements for private equity investments under the simple risk...

Payments of life insurance products depend on the uncertain future evolution of survival probabilities. This uncertainty is referred to as longevity risk. Existing literature shows that the effect of longevity risk on single life annuities can be substantial, and that there exists a (natural)...

One of the most important recent innovations in financial markets has been the development of credit derivative products that allow banks to more actively manage their credit portfolios than ever before.We analyze the effect that access to these markets has had on the lending behavior of a...

This paper tests the influence of institutional differences on risk management practices.Several survey studies have investigated derivatives usage for risk management purposes in the US (see, among others, Bodnar, Hayt, Marston and Smithson, 1995 and Bodnar, Hayt and Marston, 1996, 1998).In...

As institutional investors are the largest shareholders in most listed UK firms, one expects them to monitor the firms they invest in. However, there is mounting empirical evidence which suggests that they do not perform any monitoring. This paper provides a new test on whether UK institutional...