A Recovery of Face Value at Default (RFV) means receiving the same fractional recovery of par at default for bonds of the same issuer and seniority, regardless of remaining maturity. We find that RFV in a parsimonious structural credit risk model without endogenous bankruptcy has a profound impact on hedging interest rate risk as it strongly affects model sensitivities to interest rates. In particular, RFV explains and quantifies two important stylized facts: i) the low empirical duration of high-yield bonds and ii) the increasingly negative sensitivity of credit spreads to interest rates as credit quality declines. The recovery form used in empirical studies influences their interpretation as the default-free term structure (level and slope) interacts with the recovery form in determining model credit spreads.

Structural Recovery of Face Value at Default

SBUELZ, Alessandro;
2003-01-01

Abstract

A Recovery of Face Value at Default (RFV) means receiving the same fractional recovery of par at default for bonds of the same issuer and seniority, regardless of remaining maturity. We find that RFV in a parsimonious structural credit risk model without endogenous bankruptcy has a profound impact on hedging interest rate risk as it strongly affects model sensitivities to interest rates. In particular, RFV explains and quantifies two important stylized facts: i) the low empirical duration of high-yield bonds and ii) the increasingly negative sensitivity of credit spreads to interest rates as credit quality declines. The recovery form used in empirical studies influences their interpretation as the default-free term structure (level and slope) interacts with the recovery form in determining model credit spreads.
2003
JEL-Classification: G12; G13; G33. Recovery Forms; Structural Credit Risk Models; Duration.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11562/28142
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