The parameter loss given default (LGD) of loans plays a crucial role for risk-based decision making of banks including risk-adjusted pricing. Depending on the quality of the estimation of LGDs, banks can gain significant competitive advantage. For bank loans, the estimation is usually based on...

This study examines the lead-lag-relationship between European equity and CDSmarkets in the context of the financial crisis. Previous research identified the stock market tolead the CDS market in an ordinary economic environment. Against the background of ourstudy this lead-lag-relationship...

CAT bonds are of significant importance in the field of alternative risk transfer. Since themarket of CAT bonds is not complete, the application of an appropriate pricing model is of high relevance.We apply different premium calculation models in order to compare them with regard to...

The estimation of expected security returns is one of the major tasks for the practical implementationof the Markowitz portfolio optimization. Against this background, in 1992 Black and Littermandeveloped an approach based on (theoretically established) expected equilibrium returns whichaccounts...

We analyze the interaction of explicit and implicit contracts in a model with selfish and fair principals. Fair principals are willing to honor implicit agreements, whereas selfish principals are not. Principals are privately informed about their types. We investigate a separating equilibrium in...

Two factors have proven to be strongly relevant for the subprime mortgage crisis. The first is the lack of screening incentives of originators, which had not been anticipated by investors. The second is that investors relied too much on credit ratings. We examine whether investors have learned...

In this paper we analyze a multivariate non-stationary regression model empirically. With the knowledge about unconditional heteroscedasticty of financial returns, based on univariate studies and a congruent paradigm in Gürtler and Rauh (2009), we test for a time-varying covariance structure...

We investigate the effect of employee heterogeneity on the incentive to put forth effort in a market-based tournament. Employers use the tournament's outcome to estimate employees' abilities and accordingly condition their wage offers. Employees put forth effort, because by doing so they...

In this paper we analyze an econometric model for non-stationary asset returns. Volatility dynamics are modelled by nonparametric regression; consistency and asymptotic normality of a symmetric and of a one-sided kernel estimator are outlined with remarks on the bandwidth decision. Further...

In case of a natural catastrophe there is an increased demand for skilled labor and materials which in turn leads to significant price increases that should be taken into account in the forecast of catastrophe losses. Such price effects are referred to as Demand Surge effects. The paper at hand...