Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Statistics and Actuarial Sciences

Supervisor

Matt Davison

Abstract

This thesis calculates Credit Value Adjustment on defaultable options. The prices of default- able European options are computed through analytical, quadrature approximation and Monte Carlo simulations under the assumption of a constant rate of default. Subsequently, we propose to inversely relate the company’s instantaneous rate of default to its underlying stock price, re- sulting in a non-constant rate of default. This allows for a new approach to estimate the default of company different from previous work where default is calculated through historical data. The rationale behind this idea relies on the fact that price of the stock plunges before the event of default. For a given set of option parameters, we show that it is possible to find an optimal intensity, which produces the same prices of European options under a simpler framework. However, this intensity fluctuates with changes in other parameters. Implementation details and analysis of the results are provided.

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