We introduce a novel class of credit risk models in which the drift of the survival process of a firm is a linear function of the factors. The prices of defaultable bonds and credit default swaps (CDS) are linear-rational in the factors. The price of a CDS option can be uniformly approximated by...

We show that liquidity risk is priced in the cross section of returns on credit default swaps (CDSs). We measure CDS market illiquidity by aggregating deviations of credit index levels from their no-arbitrage values implied by the index constituents' CDS spreads, and we construct a tradable...

The aim of this paper is to extract credit-risk sensitive information from the quotes of equity options and CDSs. In particular, we wish to estimate the firm's leverage, as it is perceived by traders. This goal is achieved within a model à la Leland (1994), where stockholders have a perpetual...

Virtually all credit default swaps (CDS) are collateralized with a daily cash settlement of the variation margin equal to the change in their mark-to-market values. We show how the interest on the variation margin (also called price alignment interest) affects the value of CDS. Specifically, we...

A credit-linked note (CLN) on a tranche of the CDX index (partially) protects the holder against default losses in that tranche. The holder receives a specified redemption amount at note maturity. The note is priced using market spread quotes for a matching CDS on this tranche

On October 5, 2001, when credit spreads were widening, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME de-listed the full menu of emerging market Brady bond futures contracts. This is intriguing because at a time when interest in hedging and speculating in emerging market sovereign credit risk should be at...