In recent years, financial simulations have gotten computationally intensive due to larger portfolio sizes, and an increased demand to perform real-time risk analysis. In this paper, we propose a hardware implementation that uses a recursive analytical method to price the Collateralized Debt Obligations. A novel convolution approach based on FIFOs for storage is implemented for the recursive convolution. It is also used to address one of the main drawbacks of the analytical approach. The FIFO-based convolution approach is compared against two different convolution approaches outperforming them with a much smaller memory usage. The CDO core designed with the FIFO-based convolution method is implemented and tested on a Virtex-5 FPGA and compared against a C implementation, running on a 2.8GHz Intel Processor, resulting in a 41-fold speed up. A brief comparison against a Monte Carlo based hardware implementation for structured instruments yields mixed results.

In recent years, financial simulations have gotten computationally intensive due to larger portfolio sizes, and an increased demand to perform real-time risk analysis. In this paper, we propose a hardware implementation that uses a recursive analytical method to price the Collateralized Debt Obligations. A novel convolution approach based on FIFOs for storage is implemented for the recursive convolution. It is also used to address one of the main drawbacks of the analytical approach. The FIFO-based convolution approach is compared against two different convolution approaches outperforming them with a much smaller memory usage. The CDO core designed with the FIFO-based convolution method is implemented and tested on a Virtex-5 FPGA and compared against a C implementation, running on a 2.8GHz Intel Processor, resulting in a 41-fold speed up. A brief comparison against a Monte Carlo based hardware implementation for structured instruments yields mixed results.

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Credit derivative market has experienced an exponential growth during the last 10 years with credit default swap (CDS) as an undoubted leader within this group. CDS contract is a bilateral agreement where the seller of the financial instrument provides the buyer the right to get reimbursed in case of the default in exchange for a continuous payment expressed as a CDS spread multiplied by the notional amount of the underlying debt. Originally invented to transfer the credit risk from the risk-averse investor to that one who is more prone to take on an additional risk, recently the instrument has been actively employed by the speculators betting on the financial health of the underlying obligation. It is believed that CDS contributed to the recent turmoil on financial markets and served as a weapon of mass destruction exaggerating the systematic risk. However, the latest attempts to curb the destructive force of the credit derivative for the market by means of enhancing the regulation over the instrument, bringing it on the stock-exchange and solving the transparency issue might approve CDS in the face of investor who seeks to diminish the risk of his financial portfolio. In our thesis we provide empirical evidence of CDS ability to fulfil the diversification function in the portfolio of such credit sensitive claims as bonds and stocks. Our data for the empirical analysis consist of 12 European companies whose debt underlies the most frequently traded single-name CDS with the maturity of 5 years. Through multivariate vector autoregressive models we have tested the intertemporal relation between stock returns, CDS and bond spreads changes as well as the magnitude of this relation depending on the stock market state.   The results we have achieved for our sample are the following: 1) stock returns are mainly negatively related to the CDS and bond spread changes; 2) stock returns are the least affected by both credit spread changes, whereas changes in bond spreads are the best explained by the stock and CDS market movements; 3) the strength of the relation between three variables differs over the time: the relationship between stock returns and CDS spreads is the most dominant during the pre and post-crisis periods, while during the financial crisis time the relation between stock returns and bond spread changes as well as that of between both credit spreads comes to the foreground.   The above described relations between the three markets serve as a proof of the possibility to work out diversification strategies employing CDS. During the time of turbulence on the markets the investor may exert bigger diversification gains with the help of CDS. Thus, in spite of all the recent blame of the instrument from the investor perspective it is still remains one of the sources of profit.

本文建立了當違約機率及回收率為隨機變動，同時信用等級移動有記憶性，且回收率和無風險利率期間結構相關之信用風險價差期間結構模型。並評價信用價差選擇權及有對手違約風險普通選擇權之價值。 此模型產生的信用價差有更多的變化性，將可描述：信用價差的隨機波動行為，且即使信用等級沒變，價差仍可能發生改變；信用價差與無風險利率期間結構有相關性；公司特定或證券特定的價差及其變動行為；處於等級上升或下降趨勢公司債券之殖利率曲線，能更準確配適有風險債券的價格等實際現象。 並可應用至有對手違約風險之商品及多種信用衍生性商品等的評價與避險，且可進行風險管理方面的應用。 關鍵詞：信用風險；信用風險價差；馬可夫模型；信用衍生性商品 / In this thesis we develop a credit migration model with memory for the term structure of credit risk spreads. Our model incorporates stochastic default probability, stochastic recovery rate, and the correlation between the recovery rate and the term structure of risk-free interest rates. We derive valuation formulae for a credit spread option and a plain vanilla option with counterparty risk. This model provides greater variability in credit spreads, and it has properties in line with what have been observed in practice: (1) credit spreads show diffusion-like behavior even though the credit rating of the firm has not changed; (2) the model injects correlation between spreads and the term structure of interest rates; (3) the model enables firm-specific and security-specific variability of spreads to be accommodated; and (4) the model enables us to estimate the yield curves corresponding to the positive and negative trends of credit ratings and match the observed risky bond prices more precisely. This model is useful for pricing and hedging OTC derivatives with counterparty risk, for pricing and hedging credit derivatives, and for risk management. Key Words: Credit Risk, Credit Risk Spread, Markov Model, Credit Derivative.

本文探討可違約互換率之匯率連動選擇權的評價，外國以及本國違約交 換率的動態是建立在LIBOR 市場模型的框架。為了簡化推導過程，我們將 原本本國以及外國交換率的雙動態轉為單一動態, 因此違約以及履約價將轉 換為一個固定的常數比率來評價可違約互換率之匯率連動選擇權。由於商品 本身是考量違約的情況，因此使用遠期的存活測度來評價可違約互換率之匯 率連動選擇權。最後在數值分析的部分我們使用蒙地卡羅來模擬可違約互換 率之匯率連動選擇權，理論值與模擬值的結果接近。 / This study prices quanto options on defaultable swap rates (QODSR) in which domestic and foreign defaultable swap rates are considered in the LIBOR market model. We use two fixed ratios to price the QODSR with the default and strike rate property. The forward default-swap measure provides a simple method for valuing the QODSR. Numerical analysis is performed and compared with the Monte Carlo method to investigate the effects of volatility and default on the QODSR.

固定期信用違約交換(Constant Maturity Credit Default Swap)是移轉固定年期信用違約交換信用價差(CDS Spread)變動風險的信用衍生性金融商品，目前僅Brigo(2005)以及Krekel and Wenzel(2006)探討固定期信用違約交換的評價，也各自推導出近似封閉解，但對於相關參數之估計以及避險參數並沒有涉及，因此本研究將利用歷史資料估計Krekel and Wenzel(2006)評價公式中的參數，讓評價模型更加完備，並求算避險參數，提供發行商與投資人避險資訊。 本文利用目前信用違約交換(Credit Default Swap)市場中各到期日流動性較高的美國Eastman Kodak Company公司債作為標的物，發行一檔固定期信用違約交換，並利用現有市場資訊估計模型中的參數。在避險實證上，本文利用標的物債券信用價差曲線的變動，對固定期信用違約交換契約價值以及五年期及十年期信用違約交換契約價值的影響，建構了一個避險投資組合，使得避險後總投資組合價值波動減少。 / Constant Maturity Credit Default Swap (CMCDS) is one of the credit derivatives, whose function is to circumvent the fluctuating risk of CDS Spread. Brigo (2005) and Krekel and Wenzel (2006) focused on not only probing into the evaluation of the CMCDS but also deriving the approximated closed-form solution in their recent research separately. However, they seldom concern the hedging approach and the estimated parameters of pricing model, which could be major variable in the measurement. This paper is aiming to calculate the history data of hazard rate to estimate the parameters by using the formula from Krekel and Wenzel (2006) and compute the hedging approach of the pricing model to make it become more complete and provide the hedging information for both financial institutions and investors. By using the corporation bond of Eastman Kodak Company which with higher liquidity and various maturity as the main reference asset to issue a CMCDS and utilizing the current available market data to estimate the parameters of the pricing model to evaluate the value of the product, I find that the various credit spread curve of reference bond will influence the value of CDS and CMCDS and try to structure a hedging portfolio to eliminate the fluctuation of the product.

本文的主旨在評價二次擔保債權憑證。在條件獨立機率的假設下，我們使用factor copula的方法去刻劃違約事件間的相關係數，並提供了一個有效率的迴圈演算法去建構損失分配。本方法同時考慮違約數目及違約位置，同時亦可解決重疊性的問題。本文所建構的是Hull and White(2004)的延申模型。我們也對各參數作敏感度分析，以求得其對分券價差的影響。文中亦主張一些風險衝量指標，以量化重疊性的程度等風險議題。 / In this paper we address the pricing issues of CDO of CDOs. Underlying the conditional indepdence assumption we use the factor copula approach to characterize the correlation of defaults events. We provide an efficient recursive algorithm that constructs the loss distribution. Our algorithm accounts for the number of defaults, the location of defaults among inner CDOs, and in addition the degree of overlapping between inner CDOs. Our algorithm is a natural extension of the probability bucketing method of Hull and White (2004). We analyze the sensitivity of different parameters on the tranche spreads of a CDO-squared, and in order to characterize the risk-reward profiles of CDO-squared tranches, we introduces appropriate risk measures that quantify the degree of overlapping among the inner CDOs. Hull and White (2004) presents a recursive scheme known as probability bucketing approach to construct conditional loss distribution of CDO. However, this approach is insufficient to capture the complexities of CDO². In the case of the modeling of CDO, we are concerned for the probabilities of different number of defaults upon a time horizon t, e.g., the probabilities of 3 defaults happened within a year. With the mentioned probabilities, we can then calculate the expected loss within the time horizon, which enables us to figure out the spreads of CDO. However, in the modeling of CDO², an appropriate valuation should be able to overcome two more difficulties: (1) the overlapping structure of the underlying CDOs, and (2) the location where defaults happened, in order to get the fair spreads of CDO².