Credit risk plays a crucial role in most financial transactions in one form or another and therefore contributes to various different layers of economic activity. Three key elements in the analysis of credit risk can be distinguished, namely: (1) the lender-borrower relationship, which is at the core of the entire discussion on credit risk; (2) the pricing of credit risk in financial markets; and (3) the relevance of financial stability and regulation related to the occurrence of credit risk. This book captures these areas in a comprehensive way by highlighting some of the current issues and related questions. This book provides the reader with the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Credit Analysis and Risk Management, held in September 2013 in Basel, Switzerland. Given the high relevance of this topic, several additional authors from the field were invited to submit papers throughout the collection phase of the articles in order to enhance the range of topics engaged with.
As such, the current volume comprises a spectrum of articles by both the keynote speakers and academic presenters of the conference, as well as additional inputs from both academia and credit risk practice. Without exception, all of the articles brought together here provide significant contributions to the understanding of credit analysis and risk management. Given the fast-paced environment of today's global financial network, sophisticated but practicable models and effective regulation, in addition to well-wrought incentive schemes, are more important than ever in order to address current challenges.