Credit derivatives and risk aversion

We discuss the valuation of credit derivatives in extreme regimes such as when the time-to-maturity is short, or when payoff is contingent upon a large number of defaults, as with senior tranches of collateralized debt obligations. In these cases, risk aversion may play an important role, especially when there is little liquidity, and utility-indifference valuation may apply. Specifically, we analyze how short-term yield spreads from defaultable bonds in a structural model may be raised due to investor risk aversion.