Raiffeisen Bank International Will Use FICO Economic Impact Service to Control Risk Across 15 Countries
FICO announced that Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) will extend its usage of the new FICO® Economic Impact Service to control risk in markets across Europe.
LONDON—November 18, 2010—FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced that Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) will extend its usage of the new FICO® Economic Impact Service to control risk in markets across Europe. RBI will use the analytic service to develop lending strategies across 15 countries.
Austria-based RBI, one of the largest banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe, tested the FICO® Economic Impact Service on personal loans in Eastern Europe. The FICO Economic Impact Service allowed RBI to overlay macro-economic information on top of their traditional credit scoring system, adjusting their risk scores based upon recent and projected economic conditions and thereby improving profit per account.
“In a difficult economy, innovation is the key to raising our performance,” said Zsolt Jaczko, vice president and head of Methodology and Validation at RBI. “FICO has given us a better way to adjust our credit risk strategies in response to changing economic conditions. Each market we serve faces different economic prospects, and calibrating risk strategies for each market will help us grow in good and bad economic periods.”
“Raiffeisen Bank International has shown the kind of analytic leadership that characterizes the champions in today’s banking market,” said Mike Gordon, vice president and managing director for FICO in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “The global financial crisis showed conclusively that the past may not be the best indicator of the future. The FICO® Economic Impact Service is a ‘stress test’ of consumer credit risk at the borrower level, and Raiffeisen Bank International is using this breakthrough in credit scoring technology to do proactive customer management and fuel ambitious growth plans.”
The FICO® Economic Impact Service is a patent-pending analytic service that helps lenders adjust their use of risk scores based on economic projections and lender-defined scenarios. The service examines up to 150 different economic indicators, then scientifically calibrates credit risk estimates to expected market conditions, at the account level. With the ability to build on both internally derived score models and standard credit scores, the FICO Economic Impact Service provides lenders with unprecedented insight into the changing nature of risk under different economic conditions.
About FICO
FICO (NYSE:FICO) transforms business by making every decision count. FICO’s Decision Management solutions combine trusted advice, world-class analytics and innovative applications to give organizations the power to automate, improve and connect decisions across their business. Clients in 80 countries work with FICO to increase customer loyalty and profitability, cut fraud losses, manage credit risk, meet regulatory and competitive demands, and rapidly build market share. FICO also helps millions of individuals manage their credit health through the www.myFICO.com website.
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About RBI
Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards both Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. In CEE, RBI operates an extensive network of subsidiary banks, leasing companies and a range of other specialised financial service providers in 17 markets. 56,000 employees service about 15 million customers through around 3,000 business outlets in the region.
RBI is the only Austrian bank with a presence in both the world's financial centres and in Asia, the group's further geographical area of focus.
RBI is a fully-consolidated subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB). RZB indirectly owns around 78.5 per cent of the common stock, which is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange; the remainder is in free float. RZB is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country's largest banking group, and serves as the group head office of the entire RZB Group, including RBI.