A firm's current leverage ratio is one of the core characteristics of credit quality used in statistical default prediction models. Based on the capital structure literature, which shows that leverage is mean-reverting to a target leverage, we forecast future leverage ratios and include them in...

A firm's current leverage ratio is one of the core characteristics of credit quality used in statistical default prediction models. Based on the capital structure literature, which shows that leverage is mean-reverting to a target leverage, we forecast future leverage ratios and include them in...

This paper addresses the theoretical foundations of corporate failure prediction, using the neo-classical theory of capital structure as a starting point. The paper intends to demonstrate the feasibility of such an approach in a simple setting, i.e. by using a simple theoretical model and a...