Default risk is one of the most important types of risks, and credit default swap (CDS) is one of the most effective financial instruments to cover such risks. The lack of these instruments may reduce investment attraction, particularly for international investors, and impose potential losses on the economy of the countries lacking such financial instruments, among them, Iran. After the 2007 fi...

We characterize the exchange of financial claims from risky swaps. These transfers are among three groups: shareholders, debtholders, and the swap counterparty. From this analysis we derive equilibrium swap rates and relate them to debt market spreads. We then show that equilibrium swaps in perfect markets transfer wealth from shareholders to debtholders. In a simplified case, we obtain closed-...

We study the effect of risk aversion on the valuation of credit derivatives. Using the technology of utility-indifference valuation in intensity-based models of default risk, we analyze resulting yield spreads for single-name defaultable bonds, and a simple representative two-name credit derivative. The impact of risk averse valuation on prices and yield spreads is expressed in terms of effecti...

We study how contingent capital that converts in equity ahead of default affects bank risk-shifting. Going concern conversion restores equity value in highly levered states, thus reducing heightened risk incentives. In contrast, conversion at default for traditional bail-inable debt has no effect on endogenous risk. The main beneficial effect comes from reduced leverage at conversion. In contra...

We examine the correlation in credit risk using credit default swap (CDS) data. We find that the observable risk factors at the firm, industry, and market levels and the macroeconomic variables cannot fully explain the correlation in CDS spread changes, leaving at least 30 percent of the correlation unaccounted for. This finding suggests that contagion is not only statistically but also economi...

Risk capital is the contribution of an exposure to the default risk of a financial institution. We investigate its relationship with required shareholder returns, showing that the use of return on risk capital (RAROC) as a risk-adjusted performance measure is inconsistent with the standard theory of financial valuation and that using this one measure to represent at the same time both contribut...

China has moved rapidly from a socialist planned economy to a market economy. As a result, many enterprises in China are seeking talented top management to increase their performance and decrease their default risk. Studies abound regarding top management turnover and its relationship with firm performance, however, few studies have connected top management turnover with firm default risk. In C...