Market conditions, default risk and credit spreads
Abstract
This study empirically examines the impact of the interaction between market and default risk on corporate credit spreads. Using credit default swap (CDS) spreads, we find that average credit spreads decrease in GDP growth rate, but increase in GDP growth volatility and jump risk in the equity market. At the market level, investor sentiment is the most important determinant of credit spreads. At the firm level, credit spreads generally rise with cash flow volatility and beta, with the effect of cash flow beta varying with market conditions. We identify implied volatility as the most significant determinant of default risk among firm-level characteristics. Overall, a major portion of individual credit spreads is accounted for by firm-level determinants of default risk, while macroeconomic variables are directly responsible for a lesser portion.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Banking & Finance.
Volume (Year): 34 (2010)
Issue (Month): 4 (April)
Pages: 743-753
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Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbf
Related research
Keywords: Credit risk Credit default swaps Credit spreads Market conditions;Other versions of this item:
- Tang, Dragon Yongjun & Yan, Hong, 2008. "Market conditions, default risk and credit spreads," Discussion Paper Series 2: Banking and Financial Studies 2008,08, Deutsche Bundesbank, Research Centre.
- G13 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Contingent Pricing; Futures Pricing
- G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing
- E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
- E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
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