37281 - Credit Derivatives

Academic Year 2024/2025

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows how to transfer credit risk by means of swap arrangements (asset swaps and TRORS), and with credit derivatives. The student knows the analysis developed both on a single name basis (CDS) and on a multiname basis (CDO, CDX, iTraxx). The analysis is extended to large CDO, ABS and ABX.

Course contents

The term structure of interest rates and bond prices

Default-free bonds vs defaultable bonds. Green bonds vs traditional bonds.

The pletora of credit spreads and The puzzle of green premiums.

 

The basic of credit derivatives. The basic of weather derivatives.

 

Single name credit derivatives: ASW and CDS. The CDS-bond basis.

 

Single name credit models: structural and intensity-based models

 

Multi-name credit derivatives: credit indexes, first to default swaps. CDS index: Itaxx and CDX. Securitization: CDOs and ABS.

Green Securitization.

 

Multi-name credit models: copula functions

 

Pricing Weather derivatives: models and assumptions. A case study: pricing options with payouts depending on temperature.

Readings/Bibliography

  1. Brigo D., Mercurio F., Interest Rate Models — Theory and Practice: With Smile, Inflation and Credit. Chapters 21-22-23
  2. D. Duffie and K. Singleton: Credit Risk: Pricing, Measurement and Management, Princeton University Press, 2003
  3. D. Lando: Credit Rsik Modeling: Theory and Applications. Princeton Series in Finance
  4. C. Bluhm, L. Overbeck and C. Wagner: An introduction to Credit Risk Modeling, Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2003
  5. M. Morini, "Understanding and Managing Model Risk. A practical guide for quants, traders and validators", Wiley, 2011.
  6. F. Benth, J. Benth: Modeling and pricing in financial market for weather derivatives, World Scientific, 2013

Teaching methods

Classroom lectures.

Theoretical lessons are accompanied and completed by interactive Lab sessions with real market data, examples and exercises.

Lessons are based on slides and Excel and Matlab or Python exercises.

Assessment methods

The learning test consists in a written exam to solve in 2 hours and which covers the entire course content.. This exam is composed by 3 execises. During the exam it is permitted to use the calculator but it is not allowed to consult books or notes. It is attributed on average 10 points to each exercise. The students pass the exam with a score not lower than 18 points. There are not partial exams but just a full one at the end of the course

The students must take an oral exam about all the programme of the course. The final grade will be the average of the oral and the witten exam's grade.

The maximum possible score is 30 cum laude (for both written and oral exam).

The grades are described as follows

< 18 failed

18-23 sufficient

24-27 good

28-30 very good

30 cum laude Excellent

 

Teaching tools

Teaching tools will be blackboard and slides.

Case studies analyses with real market data. Computer exercises.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Di Francesco