Machine Learning and FICO® Scores

Every day, new technology innovations are hatched in incubators, corporate research labs, universities and government institutions. But no matter where it originates, successful new technology follows a predictable evolution, migrating over time from nascence to mainstream maturity. As it should; immature technologies that are unleashed too quickly for widespread use — Google Glass, hoverboards, et al. — can have dangerous repercussions. In the world of credit risk assessment, machine learning (ML) is one of these technologies. Thirty years ago, FICO began using early ML techniques in a lab environment; in the decades since, we have finely honed our ML expertise, which is necessary to leverage machine learning effectively and safely for applications in the field. FICO continues to invest significantly to evolve the latest machine learning techniques and bring new innovations to FICO® Scores in global markets. Most recently we have incorporated ML into the FICO® Risk and Affordability Decision Suite for the UK market, which includes two new models, a FICO® Customer Management Score and a FICO® Balance Change Sensitivity Index. The latter of these, advances the predictive power of analytic solutions from correlation toward causation –– a major breakthrough.