Spreads on corporate bonds tend to be many times wider than what would be implied by expected default losses alone. These spreads are the difference between yields on corporate debt subject to default risk and government bonds free of such risk.2 While credit spreads are often generally...

"Why are spreads on corporate bonds so wide relative to expected losses from default? The spread on Baa-rated bonds, for example, has been about four times the expected loss. We suggest that the most commonly cited explanations--taxes, liquidity and systematic diffusive risk--are inadequate. We...

Credit default swap (CDS) spreads compensate investors for expected loss, but they also contain risk premia because of investors' aversion to default risk. We estimate CDS risk premia and default risk aversion to have been highly volatile during 2002-2005. Both measures appear to be related to...

Standardised loss tranches based on credit default swap (CDS) indices have increased liquidity in the market for credit risk correlations. Although progress is being made, quantitative modelling of these correlations is complex and not yet fully developed