Description: This paper discusses the pricing of bond options and interest-sensitive cash flows by discrete state/time models such as binomial lattices. Current binomial models are faulty because the put-call parity relationship may not hold for all periods and there may exist negative interest rates. This paper presents a binomial model without such riskless arbitrage opportunities. This model allows the initial term structure of interest rates to be prescribed exogenously, so that the model price for each stream of fixed and certain cash flows is the market price.

Description: Traditional discounting is hazardous to corporate health unless, as this paper demonstrates, it is turned on its head and insurance managers adopt the methods of prudent bankers. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1987, Vol. 39.