Fixed Income Flashcards
Conversation Ratio
Bond face value / bond conversion price
Measurement of credit risk
Difference between yield to maturity on a corporate bond and a government bond with the same maturity
This is known as the credit spread and as G-spread
Considers both default probability and expected loss given default
Expected exposure to default loss
Projected amount of money the investor could lose if default occurs before factoring in possible recovery - i.e. PV of bond
Recovery rate
Percentage of the loss recovered from a bond in default
Loss given default (LGD)
Amount of loss if a default occurs
Notional principle x (1 - recovery rate)
(1 - recovery rate) = also known as loss severity
RIsk-neutral Probability of default (a.k.a. Hazard rate)
Probability that a bond issuer will not meet its contractual obligations on schedule
Risk-neutral probability of default should be used to value corporate bonds (i.e. using risk-free interest rate)
P(bond) = [Par value + coupon * prob of survival] + (value recovered given default * risk-neutral prob of default) / 1+ RFR
Difference between using actual vs. risk-neutral default probabilities
Actual default probabilities do not include the default risk premium associated with uncertainty over the timing of possible default loss
The observed spread of the yield on a risk-free bond includes liquidity and tax considerations in addition to credit risk
Credit valuation adjustment
Value of the credit risk in present value terms. Allows us to calculate the fair value of the bond
8-Steps to Calculate FV of a bond adjusted for credit risk
- Exposure = Par Value / (1+RFR)^(T-t)
- Recovery = Exposure x Recovery Rate
- LGD = Exposure - Recovery
- POD = Hazard rate - POS(t-1)
- POS = (100% - Hazard Rate)^(T-t)
- Expected Loss = LGD x POD
- Discount Factor = 1 / (1+RFR)^(T-t)
- PV of expected loss - Expected loss x DF
- CVA = sum of PV of expected loss
Bond Duration
Measures the sensitivity of the bonds full price (including accrued interest) to SMALL changes in the bond’s YTM or benchmark rates
Modified Duration - used only for option-free bonds; assumes bond’s expected cash flows do not change when yield changes
Effective Duration - used for straight and embedded option bonds
Change in P = -D x (change in R / 1 + R)
Effective Duration
Indicates the sensitivity of the bond’s price to a 100 bps PARALLEL shift of the benchmark yield curve (govt. par curve)
= (PV_) - (PV+) / [2 * (change in rate) x (PV of bond)]
Effective Duration (Callable Bonds)
Effective duration of a callable bond cannot exceed that of a straight bond
If R > Coupon rate, call option is out of the money
Effect of an interest rate change on price of a callable bond is similar to otherwise identical option-free bond
When interest rate decreases, price increases and call option is in the money; issue will limit the price appreciation by retiring the bond and therefore, call option reduces the effective duration relative to straight bond
Effective Duration (Putable Bond)
Effective duration of a putable bond cannot exceed that of straight bond
If R < Coupon R, put option is OTM; effective duration of put is similar to straight bond
Put option reduces the effective duration of the putable bond relative to straight bond
Credit Spread Migration
Typically reduces the expected return for 2 reasons:
- Probabilities for change are not symmetrically distributed around the current rating. They are skewed toward a downgrade rather than upgrade
- Increase in credit spread is much larger for downgrades than the decrease in the spread for upgrades
Convexity
Measures the sensitivity of a bond’s duration to large changes in interest rates and long holding periods
Bond’s duration + Convexity =
-D x (change in rate / 1 + rate) + [C x change in rate^2 / (1+rate)^2] / 2
Market conversion premium ratio
allows investors to identify the premium or discount payable when buying the convertible bond rather than the underlying common stock
(Market conversion price / share price of common share) - 1
Change of control price
Price at which the bond holder can convert the bond if the firm is merged with or acquired by another firm and is unaffected by a cash dividend to shareholders
Convertible bond
Hybrid security that presents the characteristics of an option-free bond and an embedded conversion option
The conversion option is a call option on the issuer’s common stock