Hedge funds are major players in the international financial system and nimble investment strategies including the use of leverage allow them to build up large positions. Yet the monitoring of systemic risks posed by the build-up of leverage is hampered by incomplete information on hedge funds'...

The banking literature has established that banks can alleviate information asymmetries between lenders and borrowers, while the Q literature has used cash flow sensitivity analysis to test whether financing constraints hinder investment. Building on the results in Hoshi, Kashyap and Scharfstein...

Equity and credit-default-swap (CDS) markets are in disagreement as to the extent to which asset returns co-move across firms. This suggests market segmentation and casts ambiguity about the asset-return correlations underpinning observed prices of portfolio credit risk. The ambiguity could be...

This paper evaluates empirically the performance of six structural credit risk models by comparing the probabilities of default (PDs) they deliver to ex post default rates. In contrast to previous studies pursuing similar objectives, the paper employs firm-level data and finds that theory-based...

Why should risk management systems account for parameter uncertainty? In order to answer this question, this paper lets an investor in a credit portfolio face non-diversifiable estimation-driven uncertainty about two parameters: probability of default and asset-return correlation. Bayesian...

In order to analyze the pricing of portfolio credit risk - as revealed by tranche spreads of a popular credit default swap (CDS) index - we extract risk-neutral probabilities of default (PDs) and physical asset return correlations from single-name CDS spreads. The time profile and overall level...

Over the past decade, many emerging markets have increased their dependence on credit from foreign banks. However, the ongoing financial crisis may prompt banks to reassess their exposures to these economies. Panel regression analysis of data since the early 1990s indicates that a deterioration...

The structure of the international banking market has evolved in important ways since the introduction of the euro in 1999. In comparison to legacy currencies, the use of the euro in cross-border banking transactions grew on aggregate, and the bilateral linkages within the euro area became more...

Activity in the international banking market has grown in recent years, both in absolute terms and relative to aggregate measures of economic activity and liquidity. By establishing a global outreach, several international banking centres have become key players in this market. This feature...