Collateral Smile
45 Pages Posted: 8 Nov 2011 Last revised: 29 Sep 2014
Date Written: September 22, 2014
Abstract
We analyze the impact of funding costs and margin requirements on index options traded on the CBOE. Assuming differential borrowing and lending rates, we derive no-arbitrage bounds for European options. We show that funding costs and the CBOE's margin requirements lead to a price increase, which translates into skew and smile patterns for implied volatility curves even under constant volatilities. Empirical tests confirm that our model-implied slopes have significant statistical power in explaining the slopes observed in the market. Hence, at least in part, funding costs and collateral requirements offer an institutional explanation of the volatility smile phenomenon.
Keywords: collateral requirements, funding costs, volatility smile, option pricing
JEL Classification: G01, G12, G13
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation