Short-rate tree calibration under BDT: Step 0. Set therisk-neutral probability of an up move, p, to 50%
Step 2. Once solved, retain these known short rates, and proceed to the next time-step (i.e. input spot-rate), "growing" the tree until it incorporates the full input yield-curve. |
Inmathematical finance, theBlack–Derman–Toy model (BDT) is a popularshort-rate model used in the pricing ofbond options,swaptions and otherinterest rate derivatives; seeLattice model (finance) § Interest rate derivatives. It is a one-factor model; that is, a singlestochastic factor—the short rate—determines the future evolution of all interest rates. It was the first model to combine themean-reverting behaviour of the short rate with thelog-normal distribution,[1] and is still widely used.[2][3]
The model was introduced byFischer Black,Emanuel Derman, and Bill Toy. It was first developed for in-house use byGoldman Sachs in the 1980s and was published in theFinancial Analysts Journal in 1990. A personal account of the development of the model is provided in Emanuel Derman'smemoirMy Life as a Quant.[4]
Under BDT, using abinomial lattice, onecalibrates the model parameters to fit both the current term structure of interest rates (yield curve), and thevolatility structure forinterest rate caps (usuallyas implied by theBlack-76-prices for each component caplet); see aside. Using the calibrated lattice one can then value a variety of more complex interest-rate sensitive securities andinterest rate derivatives.
Although initially developed for a lattice-based environment, the model has been shown to imply the following continuousstochastic differential equation:[1][5]
For constant (time independent) short rate volatility,, the model is:
One reason that the model remains popular, is that the "standard"Root-finding algorithms—such asNewton's method (thesecant method) orbisection—are very easily applied to the calibration.[6] Relatedly, the model was originally described inalgorithmic language, and not usingstochastic calculus ormartingales.[7]
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