CONTENTS Part Ⅰ : The Contemporary Framework 1 Market Basics ... 3 2 To Rate A Tabula Rasa ... 17 3 The Actuarial Method ... 32 4 The Default Method ... 58 5 The Eclectic Method ... 69 Part Ⅱ : Analyzing Structured Securities 6 Toward a Science of Ratings ... 79 7 Dynamic Asset Analysis ... 93 8 Liabilities Analysis and Structuring ... 106 9 The Average Life of Assets and Liabilities ... 124 10 PACs and TACs ... 138 Part Ⅲ : Applications of Numerical Methods to Structured Finance 11 The Art of Mathematical Modeling ... 155 12 Statistical Probability Density Functions ... 163 13 Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors ... 173 14 Markov Chains ... 180 15 Regression Analysis ... 196 16 Lower-Upper Decomposition ... 201 17 Covariance Matrix Simulation ... 204 18 The Newton-Raphson Nonlinear Optimization Method ... 208 19 Tchebychev Polynomials ... 211 Part Ⅳ : Case Studies 20 Automobile Receivable Securitizations ... 223 21 CDOs of ABS ... 272 22 Aircraft Receivable Securitizations ... 312 Part Ⅴ : Advanced Structural Features 23 Trigger Theory ... 357 Concluding Remarks ... 377 Appendices Appendix A Numerical Experiments in Random Number Generation ... 383 Appendix B The Physics of Markov Chains ... 386 Appendix C The Markov Property and the Efficient Market Hypothesis ... 389 Appendix D An Example of Nonlinear Regression ... 392 Appendix E The Symmetry and Nonnegative Definiteness of Two Special Matrices ... 394 Appendix F Convergence Analysis for the Newton-Raphson Optimization Method ... 397 Appendix G Spline Function Interpolations ... 411 Appendix H Correlation Topics ... 420 Notes ... 429 Index ... 441