We present an extension to the Gaussian copula model with jumps. We mix normal distributions which have negative means and small weights with the standard normal distribution in the Gaussian copula model to generate jumps in the default probability distribution for each underlying credit. The means and weights of the new normal distributions are used to control the size and intensity of the jum...

Using an asset-based model of default, I derive rating characteristics if ratings are meant to look ‘through the cycle’ as opposed to being based on the borrowers’ current condition. The through-the-cycle method, which is employed by most rating agencies, requires a separation of permanent and cyclical components of default risk. In a time series setting, this can be done through the Kalman fil...

The study addresses problems in measuring credit risk under the structure model, and then proposes a seemingly unrelated regression model (SUR) to predict farms’ ability in meeting their current and anticipated obligations in the next 12 months. The empirical model accounts for both the dependence structure and the dynamic feature of the structure model, and is used for estimating asset correla...

The pricing of collateralized debt obligations and other basket credit derivatives is contingent upon (i) a realistic modeling of the firms’ default times and the correlation between them, and (ii) efficient computational methods for computing the portfolio loss distribution from the individual firms’ default time distributions. Factor models, a widelyused class of pricing models, are computati...

We propose a reduced form model for default that allows us to derive closed-form solutions to all the key ingredients in credit risk modeling: risk-free bond prices, defaultable bond prices (with and without stochastic recovery) and probabilities of survival. We show that all these quantities can be represented in general exponential quadratic forms, despite the fact that the intensity is allow...

I consider the implications of alternative bankruptcy regimes for student loans in a heterogeneous model of life-cycle earnings and risky human capital accumulation. Findings suggest that the ability level of high-school graduates drives the decision to enroll in college, while the initial human capital level is crucial for completing college. Also, the correlation between parental wealth and a...

We propose a hierarchical Marshall-Olkin model of countrywide systemic risk. At the lower level, we model the systemic risk of a crisis within the banking system (that we call “within” systemic risk) and at the higher level we model the probability of a joint default of the banking system and the public sector (that we call “between” systemic risk). As for the within systemic risk, we propose a...

A simple graphical model for correlated defaults is proposed, with explicit formulas for the loss distribution. Algebraic geometry techniques are employed to show that this model is well posed for default dependence: it represents any given marginal distribution for single firms and pairwise correlation matrix. These techniques also provide a calibration algorithm based on maximum likelihood es...

The subject of this paper is the single tranche portfolio credit default swap or synthetic single tranche CDO, which has received a great deal of interest in recent years. Unlike single name CDS, tranche portfolio products depend on the joint default behavior of the underlying credits or in other words their default correlation.The Gaussian copula has emerged as a market standard for modeling t...