This book summarizes recent advances in applying saddlepoint
approximation methods to financial engineering. It addresses pricing
exotic financial derivatives and calculating risk contributions to
Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall in credit portfolios under various
default correlation models. These standard problems involve the
computation of tail probabilities and tail expectations of the
corresponding underlying state variables.
The text offers in a single source most of the saddlepoint approximation
results in financial engineering, with different sets of ready-to-use
approximation formulas. Much of this material may otherwise only be
found in original research publications. The exposition and style are
made rigorous by providing formal proofs of most of the results.
Starting with a presentation of the derivation of a variety of
saddlepoint approximation formulas in different contexts, this book will
help new researchers to learn the fine technicalities of the topic. It
will also be valuable to quantitative analysts in financial institutions
who strive for effective valuation of prices of exotic financial
derivatives and risk positions of portfolios of risky instruments.