This method is not widely used by Australian banks. Monte-Carlo techniques are
extremely computer intensive and the additional information that these techniques
provide is of most use for the analysis of complex options portfolios. To date, use of
Monte-Carlo simulation has been limited principally to the most sophisticated banks
and securities houses operating in the US. The Monte-Carlo method is based on the
generation, or simulation, of a large number of possible future price changes that
could affect the value of the portfolio. The resulting changes in portfolio value are
then analysed to arrive at a single VaR number.