The pricing accuracy and pricing performance of local volatility models depends on the absence of arbitrage in the implied volatility surface. An input implied volatility surface that is not arbitrage-free can result in negative transition probabilities and consequently mispricings and false greeks. We propose an approach for smoothing the implied volatility smile in an arbitrage-free way. The method is simple to implement, computationally cheap and builds on the well-founded theory of natural smoothing splines under suitable shape constraints.
