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Writer's pictureMeurig Chapman

Information Value

Information Value is a valuable tool in credit risk management and plays a critical role in the development of accurate and effective credit scoring models.


Information Value (IV) is a statistical measure used in credit risk scorecards to evaluate the predictive power of a variable. It quantifies how well a variable can distinguish between good and bad credit risk, and is a critical step in developing an accurate and robust credit scoring model. By using IV to identify and select the most predictive variables, credit risk managers can make informed decisions and mitigate potential losses. However, it's important to remember that IV is just one aspect of credit risk modeling and should be used in conjunction with other best practices and measures to ensure robust and reliable credit risk management.


In simple terms, the IV measures the extent to which a variable provides useful information to the credit scoring model. A variable with a high IV is considered more informative and therefore more valuable for predicting credit risk than a variable with a low IV.


The formula for calculating the IV of a variable is based on the concept of odds ratio. The odds ratio is the ratio of the probability of a good outcome to the probability of a bad outcome for a particular level of the variable. The IV is calculated by summing the difference between the odds of a good outcome and the odds of a bad outcome for each level of the variable, and multiplying it by the natural logarithm of the odds ratio.


In credit risk scorecards, variables with an IV value of greater than 0.1 are considered highly predictive and are typically included in the final model. Variables with an IV value of less than 0.02 are considered weakly predictive and are often excluded from the model.


One of the benefits of using IV in credit risk scorecards is that it provides a quantitative measure of the predictive power of a variable, which can help credit risk managers make informed decisions about which variables to include in their scoring models. By using IV to identify and select the most predictive variables, credit risk managers can create more accurate and effective credit scoring models that better identify credit risk and help to mitigate potential losses.


However, it's important to note that IV is not a perfect measure of predictive power and should be used in conjunction with other measures and best practices in credit risk modeling. Additionally, IV is only one aspect of credit risk modeling, and other factors such as model stability, reliability, and interpretability should also be considered in the development and implementation of credit scoring models.

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