QF5201: Interest Rate Theory and Credit Risk

Course Introduction

Building on mathematical foundations of arbitrage pricing theory laid down in a first course on stochastic calculus for finance, this master level course addresses the modeling of the world’s bond markets, and the derivative securities associated with them. Bond markets are less transparent than equity markets, but have a total value about double that of equity markets, and a richer underlying structure.

The whole course can be divided into two parts:

  • Credit risk

  • Interest rate model

within each part, industrial knowledge, theory & model and real world practice will be covered. Students need to acquire the modeling and arbitrage of some fundamental industrial products.

Schedule

  1. Default Probabilities
  2. MM Thm & Merton’s Model
  3. B-Cox & Leland-Toft Models
  4. Reduced Form Model
  5. Portfolio Credit Risk Model
  6. Intro to Interest Rates
  7. Interest Rates Derivatives
  8. Spot Rate Models
  9. HW and CIR Models
  10. HJM and MLM Models
  11. MLM Models and Review

Books

  • Introduction to Credit Risk Modeling by Christian Bluhm, Ludger Overbeck and Christoph Wagner

  • An Elementary Introduction to Stochastic Interest Rate Modeling by Nicolas Privault

  • Interest Rate Modeling-Theory and Practice by Lixin Wu

  • Term-Structure Models by Damir Filipovic

  • Interest Rate Models-Theory and Practice by Damiano Brigo and Fabio Mercurio

  • Lecture notes of Tomasz Bielecki, Monique Jeanblanc and Marek Rutkowski. Available here