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Stock Options and Credit Default Swaps in Risk Management

Al-Own, Bassam; Minhat, Marizah; Gao, Simon

Authors

Bassam Al-Own

Marizah Minhat



Abstract

The use of stock options and credit default swaps (CDS) in banks is not uncommon. Stock options can induce risk-taking incentives, while CDS can be used to hedge against credit risk. Building on the existing literature on executive compensation and risk management, our study contributes novel empirical support for the role of stock options in restraining the use of CDS for hedging purposes. Based on data of CEO stock options and CDS held by 60 European banks during the period 2006-2011, we find a negative relationship between option-induced risk-taking incentives (vega) and the proportion of CDS held for hedging. However, the extent of CDS held for hedging is found to be positively related to default risk in the period leading to the financial crisis that erupted in 2007. The findings imply that restraining the use of stock options can incentivize hedging with CDS, but this risk management strategy will not necessarily produce lower default risk in times of systemic credit crisis.

Citation

Al-Own, B., Minhat, M., & Gao, S. (2018). Stock Options and Credit Default Swaps in Risk Management. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 53, 200-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2017.09.021

Journal Article Type Article
Conference Name 2016 Cross Country Perspectives of Finance conferences
Conference Location Taiyuan and Pu’er, China
Acceptance Date May 9, 2017
Online Publication Date Sep 18, 2017
Publication Date 2018-03
Deposit Date May 16, 2017
Publicly Available Date Sep 19, 2018
Journal Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money
Print ISSN 1042-4431
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 53
Pages 200-214
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2017.09.021
Keywords Stock Options; Credit Default Swaps; Risk Management; Vega; Bank Risk-taking; Credit Crisis
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/846382

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