8008 Exam Dumps : PRM Certification - Exam III: Risk Management Frameworks, Operational Risk, Credit Risk, Counterparty Risk, Market Risk, ALM, FTP - 2015 Edition

The index option is affected by the spot value for the underlying index, as also the risk free interest rate, or the zero rate for the duration of the option. It is also affected by the volatility of the underlying. The 'strike price' is set and is fixed at the time the option is purchased, and therefore is not a risk factor.

Therefore other than IV, all other choices are valid risk factors that underlie an equity index option.

Other instruments may have other risk factors - for example, a long forex position will have the spot exchange rate as the only risk factor.

Choice 'c' is the correct answer. The Markov property is the assumption that there is no ratings momentum, and that transition probabilities are dependent only upon where the rating currently is and where it is going to. Where it has come from, or what the past changes in ratings have been, have no effect on the transition probabilities. ('Herstatt risk' refers to settlement risk, and is irrelevant.)

A situation where a firm has more liabilities than assets does not necessarily imply default, so long as the firm is able to pay its obligations when they come due. Therefore, short term debts have a greater bearing on a firm's default than longer term debt. However, this is not to say that merely having enough to pay off the short term debts (ie debts due within one year) is enough to avoid default. Over time, the long term debt will also be turning to short term debt, and it may not be possible for the firm to roll over its liabilities without lenders considering the long term debt. The KMV approach considers the entire short term debt and half of the long term debt as the critical value of assets below which default will be triggered. Therefore Choice 'c' is the correct answer.