Zusammenfassung:
Loss Given Default (LGD) is a major element for pricing credits and bonds. As there has been a substantial amount of research during the last years, this paper aims to give an overview. Initially, defaults and recovery definitions for credits and the differences to bonds are discussed. A survey of the empirical literature is given, finding average recovery rates for credits between 40% and 87% and lower rates for bonds. A survey of the literature on the influences on LGD showed 17 parameters. Based on these studies we suggest 6 parameters for LGD estimation. Finally an overview of LGD models is given including Standard & Poors and Moody´s KMV.