Research papers in empirical finance and financial econometrics are among the most widely cited, downloaded and viewed articles in the discipline of Finance. The special issue presents several papers by leading scholars in the field on “Recent Developments in Financial Economics and...

In this paper we examine the problem of partially hedging a given credit risk exposure. We derive hedges which satisfy certain optimality criteria: For a given investment into the hedge they minimize the remaining risk, or vice versa. This is motivated by the fact that it is a core business of...

We investigate whether the spread of corporate debt contacts can be explained by their ultimate recovery rates. Using the actual realized recovery rates of defaulted debt instruments issued in the U.S. from 1962 to 2007, we find that recovery rate is reflected in the spread at issuance, and that...

Basel III introduces new capital charges for CVA. These charges, and the Basel 2.5 default capital charge can be mitigated by CDS. Therefore, to price in the capital relief that CDS contracts provide, we introduce a CDS pricing model with three legs: premium; default protection; and capital...

We apply Geometric Arbitrage Theory to obtain results in mathematical finance for credit markets, which do not need stochastic differential geometry in their formulation. We obtain closed form equations involving default intensities and loss given defaults characterizing the...

This paper first designs an efficient procedure to value Credit Default Swap Index tranches using an intensity-based model. The tranche spreads are effectively explained by a three-factor version of this model, both before and during the financial crisis of 2008. We then construct tradable...

This paper explains the risk and returns of US corporate bond indices using a set of economically-motivated factors. In particular, I find that options markets explain a great deal of credit returns. Two particular features of corporate bonds generate option exposure. The first is that, in...

Cross-market deviations in equity put option prices and credit default swap spreads are temporal and revert to their usual level shortly after they occur, on average within about one week. The process of reversion involves predictable and economically significant changes also in the equity...

As stress testing becomes more and more widespread as a risk measurement tool of choice, new questions are formulated about its applications to portfolio management. One of the most important ones for fund managers is: ‘How do we analyze results of stress tests for benchmarked portfolios?' We...