Probability of Default Term Structure Modeling : A Comparison Between Machine Learning and Markov Chains

Abstract: During the recent years, numerous so-called Buy Now, Pay Later companies have emerged. A type of financial institution offering short term consumer credit contracts. As these institutions have gained popularity, their undertaken credit risk has increased vastly. Simultaneously, the IFRS 9 regulatory requirements must be complied with. Specifically, the Probability of Default (PD) for the entire lifetime of such a contract must be estimated. The collection of incremental PDs over the entire course of the contract is called the PD term structure. Accurate estimates of the PD term structures are desirable since they aid in steering business decisions based on a given risk appetite, while staying compliant with current regulations. In this thesis, the efficiency of Machine Learning within PD term structure modeling is examined. Two categories of Machine Learning algorithms, in five variations each, are evaluated; (1) Deep Neural Networks; and (2) Gradient Boosted Trees. The Machine Learning models are benchmarked against a traditional Markov Chain model. The performance of the models is measured by a set of calibration and discrimination metrics, evaluated at each time point of the contract as well as aggregated over the entire time horizon. The results show that Machine Learning can be used efficiently within PD term structure modeling. The Deep Neural Networks outperform the Markov Chain model in all performance metrics, whereas the Gradient Boosted Trees are better in all except one metric. For short-term predictions, the Machine Learning models barely outperform the Markov Chain model. For long-term predictions, however, the Machine Learning models are superior.