Modelling Credit Default Swaps: Market-Standard Vs Incomplete-Market Models

Abstract

Recently, incomplete-market techniques have been used to develop a model applicable to credit default swaps (CDSs) with results obtained that are quite different from those obtained using the market-standard model. This article makes use of the new incomplete-market model to further study CDS hedging and extends the model so that it is capable treating single-name CDS portfolios. Also, a hedge called the vanilla hedge is described, and with it, analytic results are obtained explaining the striking features of the plot of no-arbitrage bounds versus CDS maturity for illiquid CDSs. The valuation process that follows from the incomplete-market model is an integrated modelling and risk management procedure, that first uses the model to find the arbitrage-free range of fair prices, and then requires risk management professionals for both the buyer and the seller to find, as a basis for negotiation, prices that both respect the range of fair prices determined by the model, and also benefit their firms. Finally, in a section on numerical results, the striking behavior of the no-arbitrage bounds as a function of CDS maturity is illustrated, and several examples describe the reduction in risk by the hedging of single-name CDS portfolios.