The empirical work of this study consists of three parts: a time series analysis of the Finnish FOX stock index, Monte Carlo simulation of the theoretical index option prices and a comparison of the performance of the standard option pricing models with that of the simulation model applied.

The goal of the paper is to rationalize the observed persistent underpricing in the Finnish stock index futures market.It is shown that under a binding short-selling restriction on stocks the observed futures "underpricing" can be a result of strategic motives of the Finnish industrial and...

We present a model of risky debt in which collateral value is correlated with the possibility of default.The model is then used to study: 1) the expected amount of debt recovered in the event of default as a function of collateral; and 2) the amount of collateral needed to mitigate the riskiness...

The purpose of this paper is to provide an explanation for relative pricing of futures contracts with respect to underlying stocks using a model incorporating short sales constraints and informational lags between the two markets.In this model stocks and futures are perfect substitutes, except...

This paper discusses some potential implications - both intended and unintended - of The New Basel Accord, which is to be finalized by the end of 2001.Our focus is on the reforms of the rules for determining minimum capital requirements for credit risk.The discussion is divided into effects at...

The rating-sensitive capital charges on credit risks under the new Basel Accord are likely to increase the volatility of minimum capital requirements, which may force banks to hold larger capital cushions in excess of minimum requirements.We analyse this claim on the basis of numerical...

Banks' holding of reasonable capital buffers in excess of minimum requirements could alleviate the procyclicality problem potentially exacerbated by the rating-sensitive capital charges of Basel II. Determining the required buffer size is an important risk management issue for banks, which the...

We use the Autoregressive Conditional Duration (ACD) framework of Engle and Russell (1998) to study the effect of trading volume on price duration (ie the time lapse between consecutive price changes) of a stock listed both in the domestic and the foreign market.As a case study we use the...

The purpose of the paper is to revisit the demand for money specifiections by using U.S. quarterly data over the sample period 1951:1 - 1983:4. Utilizing the so-called threshold models suggested by Tong and Lim (1980) we first demonstrate the unsatisfactory performance of standard linear partial...

This paper reports some policy experiments carried out with the QMED model of the Bank of Finland. The main issue in these experiments is the role of expectations. Thus, we compare a static expectations version with two rational expectations versions of the model. These two versions differ in...