Pass 8008 Exam Guide

If annual variance is 0.0256, then annual volatility (ie standard deviation) is √0.0256. Therefore the daily volatility will be √0.0256/√250 = 1.01%. The other choices are not correct.

As part of a reverse stress test, a firm has to identify and assess the scenarios most likely to cause it to fail, or in other words using the language used by the FSA in the UK, for its current business plan to become unviable. A firm's business plan should be considered to become unviable at the point that crystallizing risks cause the market to lose confidence it it, with the consequence that counterparties and other stakeholders are unwilling to transact with it or provide capital to the firm and, where releant, that existing counterparties may seek to terminate their contracts. Recent experience suggests that this point is reached well before a firm's regulatory capital is exhausted.

Large known losses, or negative EBITDA (earnings before interest , tax, depreciation and amortization) may be indicators or contribute to the loss of confidence, but do not of themselves make the current business plan unviable. Therefore Choice 'd' is the correct answer.

If the marginal probability of default of two securities A and B is P(A) and P(B), then the probability of both of them defaulting together is affected by the default correlation between them. Marginal probability of default means the probability of default of each security on a standalone basis, ie, the probability of default of one security without considering the other security.

The relationship that expresses the probability of joint default of the two is given by the following expression:

It is easy to see that in a situation where the Default Correlation of A & B = 0, ie, the defaults are independent, the combined probability of default is P(A)*P(B), exactly what we would intuitively expect. Also in the other extreme case where the default correlation is equal to 1 and P(A) = P(B) = p, ie the securities behave in an identical way, the expression resolves to just p, which is what we would expect.

From the above relationship, it is clear that the probability of joint default of A and B is the greatest when default correlation between the two is equal to 1, ie the securities behave in an identical way. Therefore Choice 'a' is the correct answer.

The difference between the yields on corporate bonds and the risk free rate is called the corporate bond spread. Widening of the spread means that corporate bonds yield more, and their yield curve shifts upwards, driving down bond prices. The increase in the spread is a consequence of the market risk from holding these interest rate instruments, which is a part of market risk. If the reduction in the value of the portfolio were to be caused by a change in the credit rating of the bonds held, it would have been a loss arising due to credit risk. Counterparty risk and liquidity risk are not relevant for this question. Therefore Choice 'c' is the correct answer.