Master of Science / Department of Statistics / James Neill / In financial mathematics, asset prices for European options are often modeled according to the Black-Scholes-Merton (BSM) model, a stochastic differential equation (SDE) depending on unknown parameters. A derivation of the solution to this SDE is reviewed, resulting in a stochastic process called geometric Brownian motion (GBM) which depends on two unknown real parameters referred to as the drift and volatility. For additional insight, the BSM equation is expressed as a heat equation, which is a partial differential equation (PDE) with well-known properties. For American options, it is established that asset value can be characterized as the solution to an obstacle problem, which is an example of a free boundary PDE problem. One approach for estimating the parameters in the GBM solution to the BSM model can be based on the method of maximum likelihood. This approach is discussed and applied to a dataset involving the weekly closing prices for the Dow Jones Industrial Average between January 2012 and December 2012.

The credit derivatives market has known an incredible development since its advent in the 1990's. Today there is a plethora of credit derivatives going from the simplest ones, credit default swaps (CDS), to more complex ones such as synthetic single-tranche collateralized debt obligations. Valuing this rich panel of products involves modeling credit risk. For this purpose, two main approaches have been explored and proposed since 1976. The first approach is the Structural approach, first proposed by Merton in 1976, following the work of Black-Scholes for pricing stock options. This approach relies in the capital structure of a firm to model its probability of default. The other approach is called the Reduced-form approach or the hazard rate approach. It is pioneered by Duffie, Lando, Jarrow among others. The main thesis in this approach is that default should be modeled as a jump process. The objective of this work is to value Asset-backed Credit default swaps using the hazard rate approach.

An important issue in finance is model calibration. The calibration problem is the inverse of the option pricing problem. Calibration is performed on a set of option prices generated from a given exponential L´evy model. By numerical examples, it is shown that the usual formulation of the inverse problem via Non-linear Least Squares is an ill-posed problem. To achieve well-posedness of the problem, some regularization is needed. Therefore a regularization method based on relative entropy is applied.

The objective of this thesis is to review the two popular mathematical models of the financialderivatives market. The models are the classical Black–Scholes–Merton and the Continuoustime Markov chain (CTMC) model. We study the CTMC model which is illustrated by themathematician Ragnar Norberg. The thesis demonstrates how the fundamental results ofFinancial Engineering work in both models.The construction of the main financial market components and the approach used for pricingthe contingent claims were considered in order to review the two models. In addition, the stepsused in solving the first–order partial differential equations in both models are explained.The main similarity between the models are that the financial market components are thesame. Their contingent claim is similar and the driving processes for both models utilizeMarkov property.One of the differences observed is that the driving process in the BSM model is the Brownianmotion and Markov chain in the CTMC model.We believe that the thesis can motivate other students and researchers to do a deeper andadvanced comparative study between the two models.

Yes / Following the global financial crisis, the measurement of counterparty credit risk has become an essential part of the Basel III accord with credit value adjustment being one of the most prominent components of this concept. In this study, we extend the Merton structural credit risk model for counterparty credit risk calculation in the context of calculating the credit value adjustment mainly by estimating the probability of default. We improve the Merton model in a variance-convoluted-gamma environment to include default dependence between counterparties through a linear factor decomposition framework. This allows one to tackle dependence through a systematic common component. Our set-up allows for easier, faster and more accurate fitting for the credit spread. Results confirm that use of the variance-gamma-convolution clearly solves the vanishing credit spread problem for short time-to-maturity or low leverage cases compared to a Brownian motion environment and its modifications. / Ahmet Sensoy gratefully acknowledges support from Turkish Academy of Sciences under its Outstanding Young Scientist Award Programme (TUBA-GEBIP). Frank J. Fabozzi acknowledges the financial support from EDHEC Business School.

The thesis presents a new method of Symmetry Analysis of the Black-Scholes Merton Finance Model through modi ed Local one-parameter transformations. We determine the symmetries of both the one-dimensional and two-dimensional Black-Scholes equations through a method that involves the limit of in nitesimal ! as it approaches zero. The method is dealt with extensively in [23]. We further determine an invariant solution using one of the symmetries in each case. We determine the transformation of the Black-Scholes equation to heat equation through Lie equivalence transformations. Further applications where the method is successfully applied include working out symmetries of both a Gaussian type partial di erential equation and that of a di erential equation model of epidemiology of HIV and AIDS. We use the new method to determine the symmetries and calculate invariant solutions for operators providing them. / Mathematical Sciences / Applied Mathematics / D. Phil. (Applied Mathematics)

The thesis is focused on the options of quantifying credit risk by using the concept of the KMV model. The introduction outlines the basic approaches to measuring credit risk. In the following chapters is specified the nature of KMV model with the focus on its application in the Czech capital market. Self-calibration of the KMV model is made in this part. The analytical part related to the quantification of credit risk using the KMV model is implemented on selected companies which are traded on the Prague Stock Exchange. The results obtained are consequently confronted with the official rating degrees of agency Moody's.

The thesis presents a new method of Symmetry Analysis of the Black-Scholes Merton Finance Model through modi ed Local one-parameter transformations. We determine the symmetries of both the one-dimensional and two-dimensional Black-Scholes equations through a method that involves the limit of in nitesimal ! as it approaches zero. The method is dealt with extensively in [23]. We further determine an invariant solution using one of the symmetries in each case. We determine the transformation of the Black-Scholes equation to heat equation through Lie equivalence transformations. Further applications where the method is successfully applied include working out symmetries of both a Gaussian type partial di erential equation and that of a di erential equation model of epidemiology of HIV and AIDS. We use the new method to determine the symmetries and calculate invariant solutions for operators providing them. / Mathematical Sciences / Applied Mathematics / D. Phil. (Applied Mathematics)

When adjusted to sovereign entities, the structural credit risk model assumes a negative (positive) relationship between sovereign CDS spreads and stock prices (volatilities). In theory both markets are supposed to incorporate new information simultaneously. Discrepancies from the theoretical relationship can be exploited by capital structure arbitrageurs. In our thesis we study the intertemporal relationship between sovereign CDS and stock index markets in East Asia during the period of 2007 – 2011. We detect a negative (by and large positive) relationship between the Asian CDS spreads and stock indexes (volatilities). Across the whole region the sovereign CDS market dominates the price discovery process. However, 4 out of 7 Asian countries (Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines) demonstrate a feedback effect. The stock markets of countries with higher credit spreads (Indonesia, the Philippines and Korea) appear to react more severely at heightened variance in the CDS market. When considered separately for turbulent vs. calm periods, we find that the lead-lag relationship between the Asian sovereign CDS and stock markets is not stable. Apart from that, both markets become more interrelated during periods of increased volatility. The dependency of Asian CDS spreads and stock indexes on the “fear index” detected in the frames of robustness check implies an integration of both markets into the global one. Therefore, while seeking for arbitrage opportunities in the respective Asian markets one should also take into account possible influences of broader global factors.

The fast Fourier transform (FFT), even though it has been widely applicable in Physics and Engineering, it has become attractive in Finance as well for it’s enhancement of computational speed. Carr and Madan succeeded in implementing the FFT for pricing of an option. This project, inspired by Carr and Madan’s paper, attempts to elaborate and connect the various mathematical and theoretical concepts that are helpful in understanding of the derivation. Further, we derive the characteristic function of the risk neutral probability for the logarithmic terminal stock price. The Black-Scholes-Merton (BSM) model is also revised including derivation of the partial deferential equation and the formula. Finally, comparison of the BSM numerical implementation with and without the FFT method is done using MATLAB.