Efficient Monte Carlo Simulation for Counterparty Credit Risk Modeling

Abstract: In this paper, Monte Carlo simulation for CCR (Counterparty Credit Risk) modeling is investigated. A jump-diffusion model, Bates' model, is used to describe the price process of an asset, and the counterparty default probability is described by a stochastic intensity model with constant intensity. In combination with Monte Carlo simulation, the variance reduction technique importance sampling is used in an attempt to make the simulations more efficient. Importance sampling is used for simulation of both the asset price and, for CVA (Credit Valuation Adjustment) estimation, the default time. CVA is simulated for both European and Bermudan options. It is shown that a significant variance reduction can be achieved by utilizing importance sampling for asset price simulations. It is also shown that a significant variance reduction for CVA simulation can be achieved for counterparties with small default probabilities by employing importance sampling for the default times. This holds for both European and Bermudan options. Furthermore, the regression based method least squares Monte Carlo is used to estimate the price of a Bermudan option, resulting in CVA estimates that lie within an interval of feasible values. Finally, some topics of further research are suggested.