AI and Credit Scoring: Revolutionizing Risk Assessment in LendingAI and Credit Scoring: Revolutionizing Risk Assessment in Lending

Managing credit risk within their portfolios enables banks and financial institutions to refine their lending strategies and mitigate potential losses

Jason Hurwitz, Sales director for Europe, NETSOL

December 9, 2024

8 Min Read
A financial chart
Getty Images

AI-driven credit scoring powers financial institutions with more accurate predictions by utilizing intelligent AI models that take into account a wider array of real-time indicators. This capability empowers lenders to make more informed decisions. Through proactive management of credit risk within their portfolios, banks and financial institutions can refine their lending strategies and mitigate potential losses.

In the fast-paced world of finance, risk assessment stands as a cornerstone of responsible lending practices. Traditionally, lenders have relied on historical data and manual analysis to evaluate borrowers' creditworthiness, a process that can be time-consuming and prone to error. However, artificial intelligence has been transforming this landscape, offering lenders unprecedented insights and predictive capabilities, which subsequently enable them to make accurate, informed lending decisions.

From speeding up the lending process to expanding access to credit, AI is revolutionizing risk assessment in lending in ways never before imagined. According to the “AI in Fintech Global Market Report 2024” by Research and Markets, the market expansion of AI in the fintech sector surged from $9.15 billion in 2022 to $11.59 billion in 2023, demonstrating a robust CAGR of 26.8%.

Related:AI Versus AI Is the Next Battleground for Email Security

The Power of AI in Credit Scoring

One of the key ways AI is revolutionizing risk assessment in lending is through enhanced data analysis. The primary advantage of AI-powered credit scoring is its ability to go beyond traditional credit bureau data. While credit scores based solely on credit bureau information provide valuable insights, they may not fully capture an individual's creditworthiness, especially for those with limited credit histories or unconventional financial profiles.

AI algorithms can process vast amounts of data from diverse sources, including traditional credit bureau data, alternative data sets and even unstructured data. The algorithms are adept at analyzing vast amounts of data from diverse, alternative data sources such as utility payments, rental history, as well as social media activity, smartphone usage patterns and more.

By analyzing this data, AI can uncover hidden patterns and correlations that may not be apparent to human analysts, empowering financial institutions with a more holistic picture of an individual's financial health and creditworthiness. Therefore, by leveraging machine learning techniques, AI models can identify complex patterns and correlations within data, enabling more accurate risk assessment. Moreover, AI can continuously learn and adapt to changing market conditions, ensuring that credit scoring models remain relevant and effective over time.

Related:The Transformative Power of AI for Industrial Enterprises

AI algorithms are inherently predictive, meaning they can learn from past data to make predictions about future outcomes. In the context of lending, this means that AI-powered risk assessment models can more accurately predict the likelihood of default or delinquency based on a borrower's credit profile. By incorporating a wider range of data points and leveraging advanced machine learning techniques, AI can identify subtle patterns and trends that may signal increased credit risk, helping lenders make more informed lending decisions.

According to Forbes, analysts have predicted that AI will save more than $1 trillion in the banking sector by 2030. AI enables lenders to assess risk in real time, allowing for faster decision-making and greater efficiency in the lending process. By automating credit scoring and decision-making, lenders can streamline operations, substantially reduce costs and improve customer experience. This increased efficiency benefits both lenders and borrowers, facilitating faster access to credit while minimizing the risk of default.

Traditional lending processes often involve manual underwriting and approval processes, which can be time-consuming and cumbersome. With AI-powered risk assessment, lenders can automate many aspects of the lending process, allowing for faster approvals and disbursements. This not only improves the borrower experience but also enables lenders to respond quickly to changing market conditions and opportunities.

Enhancing Financial Inclusion

According to the World Bank, over 1.4 billion people worldwide do not possess access to banking services. One of the most promising aspects of AI-powered credit scoring is its potential to enhance financial inclusion, by expanding access to credit for underserved populations. Traditional credit scoring models often disadvantage individuals with limited credit histories or those who lack access to traditional banking services. This can perpetuate cycles of poverty and restrict economic opportunities for underserved communities.

AI algorithms, however, can analyze alternative data sources that may better reflect the creditworthiness of these individuals. By incorporating factors such as rental payments, utility bills and even educational background, AI-powered credit scoring can provide a more accurate assessment of risk for individuals who may have been overlooked by traditional credit scoring methods, thereby promoting financial inclusion and economic empowerment.

Moreover, AI can help identify opportunities to extend credit to underserved populations in a responsible manner. By leveraging predictive analytics, lenders can identify creditworthy individuals who may have been overlooked by traditional scoring models, thereby expanding access to credit for those who need it most.

The Inner Workings of AI-Driven Credit Scoring

At the heart of AI-driven credit scoring is the utilization of machine learning models. These models undergo training on extensive datasets to detect patterns and factors that could suggest a borrower's probability of loan repayment. Through the examination of thousands of data points, machine learning algorithms can unveil associations between seemingly disparate factors and an individual's financial dependability.

AI credit scoring represents a contemporary method for evaluating a borrower's creditworthiness. In contrast to conventional credit scoring, which depends on fixed variables and historical records, the machine learning algorithms AI credit scoring employs examine an extensive array of data, including non-traditional sources, to forecast creditworthiness. Consequently, the AI score interpretation offers a broader, more comprehensive and adaptable evaluation of credit risk, equipping lenders with a precise assessment of a potential borrower's financial habits.

The data leveraged in AI-driven credit scoring originates from various, diverse sources. Conventional credit details such as payment records, outstanding debts and credit tenure are typical sources. However, AI-powered credit scoring extends its reach to alternative data sources, offering a potential advantage over traditional methods. These alternative sources encompass transactional records, users' online browsing habits, social media engagements and much more.

After the completion of training, the machine learning model can be utilized for predictive analytics. The model can make forecasts on new, unseen data. Upon receiving a new credit application, the AI system scrutinizes the applicant's data against the learned patterns from training. Subsequently, it produces a score more fully forecasting the applicant's creditworthiness. This score stems from a sophisticated analysis encompassing numerous factors, many of which may not be readily apparent.

What therefore makes AI-driven credit scoring even more reliable is its capacity for continual learning and adaptation. With each new application processed and feedback received on its predictions, the system can iteratively refine its models to enhance accuracy. This ongoing learning process guarantees staying current with evolving financial trends and market dynamics. The insights derived from historical data are subsequently utilized to forecast future behavior. This iterative process of drawing from past data to anticipate future outcomes is a fundamental aspect of machine learning and it forms the basis for AI-driven credit scoring.

Why AI Credit Scoring Outperforms Traditional Models

Traditional credit scoring relies primarily on historical credit data obtained from credit bureaus and operates according to predefined rules. These models assign numerical scores based on historical data to predict an individual's likelihood of repaying a loan. However, as the data is limited in scope, traditional scoring methods may overlook relevant factors and pose a substantial obstacle for newcomers entering the banking sector. Despite potentially possessing creditworthiness, they, alongside those with unconventional financial profiles, may become ineligible for credit due to a scarcity of historical financial data. This can lead to potential inaccuracies in credit assessments.

On the other hand, AI-based credit scoring leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze a broader range of data sources, including traditional credit data as well as alternative data. These algorithms can identify complex patterns and correlations within the data, enabling more accurate predictions of credit risk. AI credit scoring models continuously learn and adapt over time, refining their predictive capabilities based on new information and changing market conditions.

With a lack of flexibility, the decision-making process for conventional credit scoring is rule-based, subject to human judgment and bias with longer processing periods. AI-driven scoring, on the other hand, offers swift and efficient evaluations with more objective assessments, minimizing or eradicating human bias. AI systems can process applications and generate scores at a much faster pace compared to traditional methods, thus accelerating the lending process.

A new study from Juniper Research suggests that by 2028, credit scoring services will grow by 67% to $44 billion. Overall, AI-powered credit scoring offers a more comprehensive and dynamic credit risk assessment, incorporating a wider range of data sources and adapting to evolving financial behaviors. This can result in more accurate credit decisions and greater financial inclusion for individuals with non-traditional credit profiles. Through ongoing learning from extensive datasets, machine-learning algorithms can uncover patterns and trends that might elude traditional scoring models.

About the Author

Jason Hurwitz

Sales director for Europe, NETSOL, NETSOL

Jason Hurwitz is the director of sales for Europe at NETSOL Technologies, an auto buying, leasing and financing company. Before joining the company, Mr. Hurwitz worked with Aldermore Bank for six years as product lead for strategy, commercial insights, tech transformation and growth initiatives for Aldermore’s SME lending division, with a particular focus on asset finance, working closely with MotoNovo Finance, Aldermore’s motor finance business. Before his roles at Aldermore, Mr. Hurwitz worked at Close Brothers Asset Finance for five years. He began his career as an investment banker in the equity derivatives division at UBS. Mr. Hurwitz holds a B.A. from Leeds Business School. 

Sign Up for the Newsletter
The most up-to-date AI news and insights delivered right to your inbox!

You May Also Like