A classification problem of credit risk rating investigated and solved by optimisation of the ROC curve

Estimation of probability of default has considerable importance in risk management applications where default risk is referred to as credit risk. Basel II (Committee on Banking Supervision) proposes a revision to the international capital accord that implies a more prominent role for internal credit risk assessments based on the determination of default probability of borrowers. In our study, we classify borrower firms into rating classes with respect to their default probability. The classification of firms into rating classes necessitates the finding of threshold values separating the rating classes. We aim at solving two problems: to distinguish the defaults from non-defaults, and to put the firms in an order based on their credit quality and classify them into sub-rating classes. For using a model to obtain the probability of default of each firm, Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis is employed to assess the distinction power of our model. In our new functional approach, we optimise the area under the ROC curve for a balanced choice of the thresholds; and we include accuracy of the solution into the program. Thus, a constrained optimisation problem on the area under the curve (or its complement) is carefully modelled, discretised and turned into a penalized sum-of-squares problem of nonlinear regression; we apply the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. We present numerical evaluations and their interpretations based on real-world data from firms in the Turkish manufacturing sector. We conclude with a discussion of structural frontiers, parametrical and computational features, and an invitation to future work.     

Liquidity and credit risk

The paper uses fuzzy measure theory to represent liquidity risk, i.e. the case in which the probability measure used to price contingent claims is not known precisely. This theory enables one to account for different values of long and short positions. Liquidity risk is introduced by representing the upper and lower bound of the price of the contingent claim computed as the upper and lower Choquet integral with respect to a subadditive function. The use of a specific class of fuzzy measures, known as g λ measures enables one to easily extend the available asset pricing models to the case of illiquid markets. As the technique is particularly useful in corporate claims evaluation, a fuzzified version of Merton's model of credit risk is presented. Sensitivity analysis shows that both the level and the range (the difference between upper and lower bounds) of credit spreads are positively related to the ‘quasi debt to firm value ratio’ and to the volatility of the firm value. This finding may be read as correlation between credit risk and liquidity risk, a result which is particularly useful in concrete risk-management applications. The model is calibrated on investment grade credit spreads, and it is shown that this approach is able to reconcile the observed credit spreads with risk premia consistent with observed default rate. Default probability ranges, rather than point estimates, seem to play a major role in the determination of credit spreads.     

A reduced-form model with default intensities containing contagion and regime-switching Vasicek processes

The contagion credit risk model is used to describe the contagion effect among different financial institutions. Under such a model, the default intensities are driven not only by the common risk factors, but also by the defaults of other considered firms. In this paper, we consider a two-dimensional credit risk model with contagion and regime-switching. We assume that the default intensity of one firm will jump when the other firm defaults and that the intensity is controlled by a Vasicek model with the coefficients allowed to switch in different regimes before the default of other firm. By changing measure, we derive the marginal distributions and the joint distribution for default times. We obtain some closed form results for pricing the fair spreads of the first and the second to default credit default swaps (CDSs). Numerical results are presented to show the impacts of the model parameters on the fair spreads.     

Mixture cure models in credit scoring: If and when borrowers default

Mixture cure models were originally proposed in medical statistics to model long-term survival of cancer patients in terms of two distinct subpopulations - those that are cured of the event of interest and will never relapse, along with those that are uncured and are susceptible to the event. In the present paper, we introduce mixture cure models to the area of credit scoring, where, similarly to the medical setting, a large proportion of the dataset may not experience the event of interest during the loan term, i.e. default. We estimate a mixture cure model predicting (time to) default on a UK personal loan portfolio, and compare its performance to the Cox proportional hazards method and standard logistic regression. Results for credit scoring at an account level and prediction of the number of defaults at a portfolio level are presented; model performance is evaluated through cross validation on discrimination and calibration measures. Discrimination performance for all three approaches was found to be high and competitive. Calibration performance for the survival approaches was found to be superior to logistic regression for intermediate time intervals and useful for fixed 12 month time horizon estimates, reinforcing the flexibility of survival analysis as both a risk ranking tool and for providing robust estimates of probability of default over time. Furthermore, the mixture cure model’s ability to distinguish between two subpopulations can offer additional insights by estimating the parameters that determine susceptibility to default in addition to parameters that influence time to default of a borrower.     

Dynamics of multivariate default system in random environment

We consider a multivariate default system where random environmental information is available. We study the dynamics of the system in a general setting of enlargement of filtrations and adopt the point of view of change of probability measures. We also make a link with the density approach in the credit risk modelling. Finally, we present a martingale characterization result with respect to the observable information filtration on the market.     

基于KMV模型的我国中小上市公司信用风险研究

经过提高股权价值波动率精度的KMV模型对我国中小上市公司有很强的识别信用风险状况的能力.中小上市公司违约的可能性大于我国大型企业,信用状况不容乐观,整体信用状况在近3年间表现波澜不惊,到2006年违约风险有增大趋势.通过设定两条信用预警线,来监控中小上市公司的信用危机.资产规模对信用风险有显著影响,2004年之后资产规模与违约风险显著负相关,总资产小于3亿元的小公司抗风险能力最差.股份分置改革引起了中小上市公司信用风险短时间的波动,是2006年中小上市公司违约风险变大的重要原因。     

Restructuring risk in credit default swaps: An empirical analysis

This paper estimates the price for restructuring risk in the US corporate bond market during 1999–2005. Comparing quotes from default swap (CDS) contracts with a restructuring event and without, we find that the average premium for restructuring risk represents 6%–8% of the swap rate without restructuring. We show that the restructuring premium depends on firm-specific balance-sheet and macroeconomic variables. And, when default swap rates without a restructuring event increase, the increase in restructuring premia is higher for low-credit-quality firms than for high-credit-quality firms. We propose a reduced-form arbitrage-free model for pricing default swaps that explicitly incorporates the distinction between restructuring and default events. A case study illustrating the model’s implementation is provided.     

Credit risk assessment using a multicriteria hierarchical discrimination approach: A comparative analysis

Corporate credit risk assessment decisions involve two major issues: the determination of the probability of default and the estimation of potential future benefits and losses for credit granting. The former issue is addressed by classifying the firms seeking credit into homogeneous groups representing different levels of credit risk. Classification/discrimination procedures commonly employed for such purposes include statistical and econometric techniques. This paper explores the performance of the M.H.DIS method (Multi-group Hierarchical DIScrimination), an alternative approach that originates from multicriteria decision aid (MCDA). The method is used to develop a credit risk assessment model using a large sample of firms derived from the loan portfolio of a leading Greek commercial bank. A total of 1411 firms are considered in both training and holdout samples using financial information through the period 1994–1997. A comparison with discriminant analysis (DA), logit analysis (LA) and probit analysis (PA) is also conducted to investigate the relative performance of the M.H.DIS method as opposed to traditional tools used for credit risk assessment.     

Copula理论在信用风险研究中的应用

信用风险研究足近些年来金融数学中的一个崭新的研究方向.本文主要研究了组合信用风险中的常用方法:违约相关性的Copula方法.本文建立了Copula方法与违约相关性研究中的结构化方法和约化方法的联系.此外对于单个公司的生存概率的研究,本文给出了不同于Lando (1998)的求解和证明方法,而这种方法不需要在现在就知道将...     

基于PROMETHEE-II的商户小额贷款信用评级模型及实证

截至2014年底,中国注册个体工商户为4984.06万户,个体私营经济吸纳社会从业人员已达2.5亿人,加上中国商户小额贷款对象的分散性、财务信息不健全等特点和难点,商户小额贷款信用评级体系极不完善,甚至绝大多数银行都没有建立这个体系。本文通过相关分析剔除反映信息重复的指标,通过显著性判别遴选对商户违约状态影响显著的指标,建立了能显著区分商户违约状态的小额贷款信用评级指标体系。在此基础上,结合PROMETHEE-II(偏好顺序结构)和聚类分析方法,构建了商户小额贷款信用评级模型,并对中国某国有商业银行2157个商户小额贷款样本进行了实证。本文创新与特色:一是通过将偏好顺序结构评估法(PROMETHEE-II)引入商户小额贷款信用评级,构建了基于PROMETHEE-II的小额贷款信用评分模型,求解商户的净流量信用得分Φ(a),揭示了商户a与其余商户、评价指标间的相互作用对评价结果的影响,避免了现有研究由于评价指标之间的相互替代性、严重影响评价结果可靠性的不足。二是借鉴模糊聚类“数据越集中、越应该被分为一类”的思想,采用R聚类对商户信用得分进行分类;进而采用K-W检验,对分类数目l进行非参数检验,确定商户的信用等级。既保证了不同等级商户在信用得分数值上存在显著差异,也确保了不同等级商户能反映不同的信用特征;同时,也避免了现有利用信用得分区间、违约概率阈值或客户数分布方法划分信用等级时,得分区间、违约概率阈值或客户数分布分位点人为主观确定的不足。三是实证研究表明,影响商户小额贷款信用风险的重要性排序依次为:X₃偿债能力>X₁基本情况>X₆宏观环境>X₅营运能力>X₂保证联保>X₄盈利能力。     

First passage time for multivariate jump‐diffusion processes in finance and other areas of applications

The first passage time (FPT) problem is an important problem with a wide range of applications in science, engineering, economics, and industry. Mathematically, such a problem can be reduced to estimating the probability of a stochastic process first to reach a boundary level. In most important applications in the financial industry, the FPT problem does not have an analytical solution and the development of efficient numerical methods becomes the only practical avenue for its solution. Most of our examples in this contribution are centered around the evaluation of default correlations in credit risk analysis, where we are concerned with the joint defaults of several correlated firms, the task that is reducible to a FPT problem. This task represents a great challenge for jump‐diffusion processes (JDP). In this contribution, we develop further our previous fast Monte Carlo method in the case of multivariate (and correlated) JDP. This generalization allows us, among other things, to evaluate the default events of several correlated assets based on a set of empirical data. The developed technique is an efficient tool for a number of financial, economic, and business applications, such as credit analysis, barrier option pricing, macroeconomic dynamics, and the evaluation of risk, as well as for a number of other areas of applications in science and engineering, where the FPT problem arises. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investment and financing decisions in the presence of time-to-build

We study a firm’s optimal decisions on investment, default, and financing when the amount of time and the running costs for project completion are uncertain. In the presence of time-to-build, a firm makes conservative investment and financing decisions; investment is delayed, and the optimal leverage ratio is inverted U-shaped with respect to the size of the lag. Although equity holders can choose to default before the project has been completed, the default probability in the presence of time-to-build is lower than that in the absence of a lag in most cases because of the conservative investment and financing decisions. Given the lower default probability, equity holders may benefit more from debt financing in the presence of time-to-build than they would in the absence of a lag. When firms can shorten their expected time-to-build by bearing more costs, unlevered firms strive to reduce the lag more than optimally levered firms do. However, highly levered firms utilize more resources to reduce the lag than all-equity firms do because equity holders are more concerned about the possibility of default before the project’s completion.     

基于信用利差与Logistic回归的公司违约概率测算模型与实证研究

用Logistic模型计算公司违约概率在实际应用中存在两个问题:一是在缺乏公司违约记录数据库或违约记录数据库不典型的情况下,无法应用该模型或模型计算结果不准确;二是现有Logistic违约概率模型忽视了不同行业财务指标分布特征的差异性,导致公司违约概率计算结果的准确性降低。针对问题一,本文通过公司债券信用利差计算市场隐含的公司违约概率,在Logistic变换的基础上进一步确定Logistic线性回归的参数,使得公司违约概率的计算结果符合债券市场的实际状况。针对问题二,通过不同行业关键财务指标的单因子方差分析,证实了行业间财务指标的分布特征具有显著性差异,通过拟合优度证实了区分行业建立Logistic违约概率模型可显著提高违约概率测算的准确性。本文Logistic违约概率模型的构建过程如下:通过初选财务指标的相关性分析,删除反映信息重复的财务指标;通过Logistic回归中财务指标系数的显著性检验,删除对违约概率解释能力弱的财务指标;以Logistic回归的拟合优度为标准,选取各样本行业Logistic违约概率模型的关键财务指标,建立了机械设备等5个样本行业的Logistic违约概率模型,为样本内行业公司违约概率的准确测算提供模型与方法。本文的创新与特色:一是在无套利条件下,通过公司债券信用利差计算市场隐含的公司违约概率,并对其进行Logistic变换,作为Logistic线性回归的被解释变量,解决了在缺乏公司违约记录数据情况下Logistic违约概率模型的参数估计问题;二是通过单因子方差分析方法,证实了行业间财务指标的分布特征具有显著性差异,说明应区分行业建立Logistic违约概率模型;三是通过财务指标间的相关分析删除反映信息重复的财务指标,通过财务指标系数的显著性检验删除对公司违约概率解释能力弱的财务指标,保证了Logistic违约概率模型中关键财务指标选取的合理性;四是实证研究结果表明,不同行业的Logistic违约概率模型的关键财务指标不同,同一财务指标的参数也存在显著差异。实证研究结果还表明,区分行业建立Logistic违约概率模型与不区分行业相比,前者可将拟合优度及调整后的拟合优度提高近1倍。本文研究结果对于提高公司违约概率测算的准确性具有重要参考意义,对于商业银行贷款定价、公司债券发行定价、银行信用风险管理具有重要参考意义。     

地方政府债券信用风险缓释工具定价研究

随着地方政府债券发行规模的扩大,地方政府债务的信用风险日益凸出。本研究以企业债信用风险缓释工具的推出为契机,借鉴结构化模型的思路和KMV模型求解违约概率的逻辑,通过Monte Carlo方法模拟地方政府的违约过程,直接测算地方政府的整体违约概率;结合简约化模型的思路测算地方政府债券的具体违约概率,计算信用风险缓释工具的理论价格,从而构建了地方政府债券信用风险缓释工具的混合定价模型。研究发现,以企业债券为标的测算出的模型理论价格与市场报价基本一致,参数的敏感性检验进一步验证了模型的理论自洽性和实证可靠性。上述结论或将为新《预算法》实施过程中地方政府债务的治理与掌控及中国区域性、系统性金融风险的防范提供新思路。     

Stress test for a technology credit guarantee fund based on survival analysis

A technology credit guarantee policy has been established to provide financial support to technology-based SMEs with a limited asset base. For an effective technology credit guarantee policy, risk management is essential. In this paper, we investigate a survival model that predicts start-up SMEs’ loan default probability at a given time based on technology attributes along with the economic environment and the firm’s characteristics at the time of the technology credit guarantee fund application. This, in turn, is used for the estimation of the technology fund risk along with a stress test. Our work is expected to contribute to reducing the risks associated with technology financing.     

On reduced-form intensity-based model with ‘trigger’ events

Corporate defaults may be triggered by some major market news or events such as financial crises or collapses of major banks or financial institutions. With a view to develop a more realistic model for credit risk analysis, we introduce a new type of reduced-form intensity-based model that can incorporate the impacts of both observable ‘trigger’ events and economic environment on corporate defaults. The key idea of the model is to augment a Cox process with ‘trigger’ events. Both single-default and multiple-default cases are considered in this paper. In the former case, a simple expression for the distribution of the default time is obtained. Applications of the proposed model to price defaultable bonds and multi-name Credit Default Swaps are provided.     

农村信用社信贷违约识别模型及其应用

构建农村信用社信用风险模型对完善农村金融风险管理体系、提高农村信用社经营管理意义重大.基于还款意愿和还款能力两方面,系统分析了影响农信社贷款债务人违约率的主要因素,在此基础上应用logistic方法建立农信社债务人违约率预测模型,并通过Gini系数对模型区分能力和识别能力进行验证评估.实证结果表明,模型中债务人年龄、所在地区、贷款额所占家庭收入比例、与信用社信贷关系密切程度以及户口状况等因素都表现显著;违约率预测模型在样本内和样本外均有较好的违约识别能力,从而可为农信社放贷前的债务人信用评估、贷款发放和风险管理提供有力参考.     

Modelling credit risk of portfolio of consumer loans

One of the issues that the Basel Accord highlighted was that, though techniques for estimating the probability of default and hence the credit risk of loans to individual consumers are well established, there were no models for the credit risk of portfolios of such loans. Motivated by the reduced form models for credit risk in corporate lending, we seek to exploit the obvious parallels between behavioural scores and the ratings ascribed to corporate bonds to build consumer-lending equivalents. We incorporate both consumer-specific ratings and macroeconomic factors in the framework of Cox Proportional Hazard models. Our results show that default intensities of consumers are significantly influenced by macro factors. Such models then can be used as the basis for simulation approaches to estimate the credit risk of portfolios of consumer loans.     

Samsung card lending model

Samsung Card Lending Model (SCLM) analyzes cash flow in individual accounts and measures the level of company-wide risk. Serving as a risk and portfolio management model in the consumer lending business, the main features of SCLM are as follows. Default ratios such as intrinsic balance default probability and annual default ratio are computed using the past, present, and future cash flows of accounts. The provision is shown as the total sum of write-offs. The size of capital required is determined by default probability distribution. The price for new accounts is quoted based on cash flow simulations reflecting future business environments. SCLM has shown good performance in Samsung card consumer lending business since the Korean credit card crisis of 2003.     

Credit Risk in an Economy with New Firms Arrivals

We propose a dynamic model to analyze the credit quality of firms. In the market in which they operate, the firms are divided into a finite number of classes representing their credit status. The cardinality of the population can increase, since new firms can enter the market and the partition is supposed to change over time, due to defaults and changes in credit quality, following a class of Markov processes. Some conditional probabilities related to default times are investigated and the role of occupation numbers is highlighted in this context. In a partial information setting at discrete time, we present a particle filtering technique to numerically compute by simulation the conditional distribution of the number of firms in the credit classes, given the information up to time t.