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...

We propose a simple computational method for constructing an arbitrage-free CDO pricing model which matches a pre-specified set of CDO tranche spreads. The key ingredient of the method is a formula for computing the local default intensity function of a portfolio from its expected tranche...

We find that firm-level variance risk premium, estimated as the difference between option-implied and expected variances, has a prominent explanatory power for credit spreads in the presence of market- and firm-level risk control variables identified in the existing literature. Such a...

Using three alternative decompositions of the credit default swap premium this study examines how investors judge the credit risk of banks and non-banks before, during, and after the financial crisis of 2007-2009. The empirical findings, based on a sample of 213 major US and European firms,...

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...

In this study, we investigate the dynamics behind informed investors' trading decisions among Eu-ropean stock, options and credit default swap markets. This allows us to identify the predictive ex-planatory power of the unique information contained in each market with respect to future stock,...

We present a simple procedure to construct credit curves by bootstrapping a hazard rate curve from observed CDS spreads. The hazard rate is assumed constant between subsequent CDS maturities. In order to link survival probabilities to market spreads, we use the JP Morgan model, a common market...

In this note we show how to replicate a stylized CDS with a repurchase agreement and an asset swap. The latter must be designed in such a way that, on default of the issuer, it is terminated with a zero close-out amount. This break clause can be priced using the well known unilateral...

We devise simulation/regression numerical schemes for pricing the CVA on CDO tranches, where CVA stands for Credit Valuation Adjustment, or price correction accounting for the defaultability of a counterparty in an OTC derivatives transaction. This is done in the setup of a continuous-time...