IMF researchers: digital footprint yields better credit assessment

Re:IMF researchers: digital footprint yields better credit a... by chii on Saturday February 13, 2021 @12:45AM (#26121699)

But you're only looking at this from a single perspective, where every single bank starts charging the same 4% simply because of irish heritage.

What if, one bank started doing it because they used this model. But another bank doesn't, because they don't believe this model?

If you were an irish person, you would just move banks. And if it turns out, indeed, that the first bank was over-charging the 4% (ie., no irish person defaults due to their being irish), then they've lost business for no reason, and the 2nd bank got more business.

However, if it turns out that being irish _does_ indeed cause you to default more, then the bank charging an extra 4% was correct. The 2nd bank, upon finding proof of this, would also start charging an extra 4% (otherwise, they'd be losing out money to the first bank).

So in the end, a bank can only charge the most appropriate interest rate for the market to bear.

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Re:IMF researchers: digital footprint yields better credit a... by naresh_xai on Saturday February 13, 2021 @01:27AM (#26121833)

The number of loans a bank gives out to such a specific factor might be low enough that it would take 30 years for a bank to have an actual study. That's 1-2 generations of abuse.

Most banks just copy each other.

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Re:IMF researchers: digital footprint yields better credit a... by bostik on Saturday February 13, 2021 @02:27AM (#26122037)

> a bank can only charge the most appropriate interest rate for the market to bear.

The market can remain irrational longer than you can stay alive.

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