A forward intensity model for the prediction of corporate defaults over different future periods is proposed. Maximum pseudo-likelihood analysis is then conducted on a large sample of the US industrial and financial firms spanning the period 1991-2011 on a monthly basis. Several commonly used...

A high-quality and granular probability of default (PD) model is on many practical dimensions far superior to any categorical credit rating system. Business adoption of a PD model, however, needs to factor in the long-established business/regulatory conventions built around letter-based credit...