IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/csdana/v51y2007i7p3448-3469.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On sovereign credit migration: A study of alternative estimators and rating dynamics

Author

Listed:
  • Fuertes, Ana-Maria
  • Kalotychou, Elena

Abstract

This paper investigates the finite-sample behaviour of sovereign credit migration estimators and analyzes the properties of the rating process. Through bootstrap simulations, we compare a discrete multinomial estimator and two continuous hazard rate methods which differ in that one neglects time-heterogeneity in the rating process whereas the other accounts for it. The study is based on Moody's ratings 1981-2004 for 72 industrialized and emerging economies. Hazard rate estimators yield more accurate default probabilities. The time homogeneity assumption leads to underestimating the default probability and greater migration risk is inferred upon relaxing it. There is evidence of duration dependence and downgrade momentum effects in the rating process. These findings have important implications for economic and regulatory capital allocation and for the pricing of credit sensitive instruments.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Fuertes, Ana-Maria & Kalotychou, Elena, 2007. "On sovereign credit migration: A study of alternative estimators and rating dynamics," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 51(7), pages 3448-3469, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:csdana:v:51:y:2007:i:7:p:3448-3469
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167-9473(06)00218-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nickell, Pamela & Perraudin, William & Varotto, Simone, 2000. "Stability of rating transitions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(1-2), pages 203-227, January.
    2. Koopman, Siem Jan & Lucas, Andre & Monteiro, Andre, 2008. "The multi-state latent factor intensity model for credit rating transitions," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 399-424, January.
    3. Robert A. Jarrow & David Lando & Stuart M. Turnbull, 2008. "A Markov Model for the Term Structure of Credit Risk Spreads," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Financial Derivatives Pricing Selected Works of Robert Jarrow, chapter 18, pages 411-453, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Jafry, Yusuf & Schuermann, Til, 2004. "Measurement, estimation and comparison of credit migration matrices," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 2603-2639, November.
    5. Robert B. Israel & Jeffrey S. Rosenthal & Jason Z. Wei, 2001. "Finding Generators for Markov Chains via Empirical Transition Matrices, with Applications to Credit Ratings," Mathematical Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 245-265, April.
    6. Shorrocks, A F, 1978. "The Measurement of Mobility," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(5), pages 1013-1024, September.
    7. Guedon, Yann, 2005. "Hidden hybrid Markov/semi-Markov chains," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 663-688, June.
    8. Jackson, Patricia & Perraudin, William, 2000. "Regulatory implications of credit risk modelling," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(1-2), pages 1-14, January.
    9. Altman, Edward I., 1998. "The importance and subtlety of credit rating migration," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(10-11), pages 1231-1247, October.
    10. Bangia, Anil & Diebold, Francis X. & Kronimus, Andre & Schagen, Christian & Schuermann, Til, 2002. "Ratings migration and the business cycle, with application to credit portfolio stress testing," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(2-3), pages 445-474, March.
    11. Wei, Jason Z., 2003. "A multi-factor, credit migration model for sovereign and corporate debts," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 709-735, October.
    12. Hu, Yen-Ting & Kiesel, Rudiger & Perraudin, William, 2002. "The estimation of transition matrices for sovereign credit ratings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(7), pages 1383-1406, July.
    13. Geweke, John & Marshall, Robert C & Zarkin, Gary A, 1986. "Mobility Indices in Continuous Time Markov Chains," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(6), pages 1407-1423, November.
    14. Richard Cantor & Frank Packer, 1996. "Determinants and impact of sovereign credit ratings," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 2(Oct), pages 37-53.
    15. Lando, David & Skodeberg, Torben M., 2002. "Analyzing rating transitions and rating drift with continuous observations," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(2-3), pages 423-444, March.
    16. Christensen, Jens H.E. & Hansen, Ernst & Lando, David, 2004. "Confidence sets for continuous-time rating transition probabilities," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 2575-2602, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Guglielmo D'Amico & Filippo Petroni & Philippe Regnault & Stefania Scocchera & Loriano Storchi, 2019. "A copula based Markov Reward approach to the credit spread in European Union," Papers 1902.00691, arXiv.org.
    2. Oliver Blümke, 2020. "Estimating the probability of default for no‐default and low‐default portfolios," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 69(1), pages 89-107, January.
    3. Jeffrey R. Stokes, 2023. "A nonlinear inversion procedure for modeling the effects of economic factors on credit risk migration," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 855-878, October.
    4. Fuertes, Ana-Maria & Kalotychou, Elena, 2006. "Early warning systems for sovereign debt crises: The role of heterogeneity," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 1420-1441, November.
    5. Alsakka, Rasha & ap Gwilym, Owain, 2010. "A random effects ordered probit model for rating migrations," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 140-147, September.
    6. Alsakka, Rasha & ap Gwilym, Owain, 2012. "Rating agencies' credit signals: An analysis of sovereign watch and outlook," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 45-55.
    7. Camilla Ferretti & Giampaolo Gabbi & Piero Ganugi & Federica Sist & Pietro Vozzella, 2019. "Credit Risk Migration and Economic Cycles," Risks, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-18, October.
    8. Hill, Paula & Brooks, Robert & Faff, Robert, 2010. "Variations in sovereign credit quality assessments across rating agencies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1327-1343, June.
    9. Al-Sakka, Rasha & ap Gwilym, Owain, 2010. "Split sovereign ratings and rating migrations in emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 79-97, June.
    10. Rasha Alsakka & Owain ap Gwilym, 2010. "Sovereign Ratings and Migrations: Emerging Markets," Working Papers 10009, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    11. Orth, Walter, 2011. "Default probability estimation in small samples: With an application to sovereign bonds," Discussion Papers in Econometrics and Statistics 5/11, University of Cologne, Institute of Econometrics and Statistics.
    12. D’Amico, Guglielmo & Scocchera, Stefania & Storchi, Loriano, 2018. "Financial risk distribution in European Union," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 505(C), pages 252-267.
    13. Walter Orth, 2013. "Default probability estimation in small samples--with an application to sovereign bonds," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(12), pages 1891-1902, December.
    14. Sumon Bhaumik & John S. Landon-Lane, 2007. "Directional Mobility of Ratings," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp900, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    15. Pasanisi, Alberto & Fu, Shuai & Bousquet, Nicolas, 2012. "Estimating discrete Markov models from various incomplete data schemes," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 56(9), pages 2609-2625.
    16. Al-Sakka, Rasha & ap Gwilym, Owain, 2009. "Heterogeneity of sovereign rating migrations in emerging countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 151-165, June.
    17. Alsakka, Rasha & ap Gwilym, Owain, 2010. "Leads and lags in sovereign credit ratings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 2614-2626, November.
    18. Tamás Kristóf, 2021. "Sovereign Default Forecasting in the Era of the COVID-19 Crisis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-24, October.
    19. Slapnik, Ursula & Lončarski, Igor, 2021. "On the information content of sovereign credit rating reports: Improving the predictability of rating transitions☆," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    20. Orth, Walter, 2011. "Default probability estimation in small samples - with an application to sovereign bonds," MPRA Paper 33778, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Do, Hung Xuan & Brooks, Robert & Treepongkaruna, Sirimon & Wu, Eliza, 2014. "The effects of sovereign rating drifts on financial return distributions: Evidence from the European Union," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 5-20.
    22. Chan, Ngai Hang & Wong, Hoi Ying & Zhao, Jing, 2012. "Structural model of credit migration," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 56(11), pages 3477-3490.
    23. Balios, Dimitris & Thomadakis, Stavros & Tsipouri, Lena, 2016. "Credit rating model development: An ordered analysis based on accounting data," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 122-136.
    24. Uslu Çağrı L., 2017. "Examining the Behavior of Credit Rating Agencies Post 2008 Economic Turmoil," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 53(4), pages 61-76, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Trueck, Stefan & Rachev, Svetlozar T., 2008. "Rating Based Modeling of Credit Risk," Elsevier Monographs, Elsevier, edition 1, number 9780123736833.
    2. Jafry, Yusuf & Schuermann, Til, 2004. "Measurement, estimation and comparison of credit migration matrices," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 2603-2639, November.
    3. Til Schuermann & Yusuf Jafry, 2003. "Measurement and Estimation of Credit Migration Matrices," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 03-08, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania.
    4. Jeffrey R. Stokes, 2023. "A nonlinear inversion procedure for modeling the effects of economic factors on credit risk migration," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 855-878, October.
    5. Biase di Giuseppe & Guglielmo D'Amico & Jacques Janssen & Raimondo Manca, 2014. "A Duration Dependent Rating Migration Model: Real Data Application and Cost of Capital Estimation," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 64(3), pages 233-245, June.
    6. Kadam, Ashay & Lenk, Peter, 2008. "Bayesian inference for issuer heterogeneity in credit ratings migration," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 2267-2274, October.
    7. Sumon Bhaumik & John S. Landon-Lane, 2007. "Directional Mobility of Ratings," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp900, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    8. Figlewski, Stephen & Frydman, Halina & Liang, Weijian, 2012. "Modeling the effect of macroeconomic factors on corporate default and credit rating transitions," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 87-105.
    9. Areski Cousin & Mohamed Reda Kheliouen, 2016. "A comparative study on the estimation of factor migration models," Working Papers halshs-01351926, HAL.
    10. Xing, Haipeng & Sun, Ning & Chen, Ying, 2012. "Credit rating dynamics in the presence of unknown structural breaks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 78-89.
    11. Kim, Yoonseong & Sohn, So Young, 2008. "Random effects model for credit rating transitions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 184(2), pages 561-573, January.
    12. Frydman, Halina & Schuermann, Til, 2008. "Credit rating dynamics and Markov mixture models," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1062-1075, June.
    13. Dimitris Gavalas & Theodore Syriopoulos, 2014. "Bank Credit Risk Management and Rating Migration Analysis on the Business Cycle," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-22, March.
    14. Stefan Truck, 2008. "Forecasting credit migration matrices with business cycle effects—a model comparison," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(5), pages 359-379.
    15. Hill, Paula & Brooks, Robert & Faff, Robert, 2010. "Variations in sovereign credit quality assessments across rating agencies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1327-1343, June.
    16. Schechtman, Ricardo, 2013. "Default matrices: A complete measurement of banks’ consumer credit delinquency," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 460-474.
    17. Georges Dionne & Geneviève Gauthier & Khemais Hammami & Mathieu Maurice & Jean‐Guy Simonato, 2010. "Default Risk in Corporate Yield Spreads," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(2), pages 707-731, June.
    18. Valerio Vacca, 2017. "An Unexpected Crisis? Looking at Pricing Effectiveness of Heterogeneous Banks," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 46(2), pages 171-206, July.
    19. Nickell, Pamela & Perraudin, William & Varotto, Simone, 2007. "Ratings-based credit risk modelling: An empirical analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 434-451.
    20. Camilla Ferretti & Giampaolo Gabbi & Piero Ganugi & Federica Sist & Pietro Vozzella, 2019. "Credit Risk Migration and Economic Cycles," Risks, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-18, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:csdana:v:51:y:2007:i:7:p:3448-3469. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/csda .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.