In order to circumvent common difficulties in exchanging statistical data between heterogeneous applications (format incompatibilities, technocentric data representation), we introduce an XML-based markup language for statistical data, called StatDataML. After comparing StatDataML to other data...

In this study, we empirically analyze the determinants of heterogeneity in rating assessments across different segments of the European loan market. We conduct a benchmarking analysis using rating information on European corporate obligors from nine major Austrian banks that have a large share...

The validation of credit rating systems has recently attracted particular interest both from banks and their supervisors as well as from academic research. Whereas the main interest has been focused on backtesting methods, alternative approaches such as benchmarking are of growing importance....

We suggest a new framework for the use of multi-rater information in the validation of credit rating systems, applicable in any validation process where rating information from different sources is available. As our validation framework does not rely on historical default information it appears...

The Credit Default Swap (CDS) market has both been lauded for its ability to stabilize the financial system through credit risk transfers and been the source of regulatory concern due to its size and lack of transparency. As a decentralized over-the-counter market, detailed information about...

Four years after the last European football championship (EURO) in Austria and Switzerland, the two finalists of the EURO 2008 - Spain and Germany - are again the clear favorites for the EURO 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine. Using a bookmaker consensus rating - obtained by aggregating winning...

This paper introduces ideas and methods for testing for structural change in linear regression models and presents how these have been realized in an R package called strucchange. It features tests from the generalized fluctuation test framework as well as from the F test (Chow test) framework....