AI Scorekeeper: Scotiabank Sharpens the Pencil in Credit Risk

Paul Edwards is helping carry the age-old business of giving loans into the modern era of AI. Edwards started his career modeling animal behavior as a Ph.D. in numerical ecology. He left his lab coat behind to lead a group of data scientists at Scotiabank, based in Toronto, exploring how machine learning can improve predictions of credit risk. The team believes machine learning can both make the bank more profitable and help more people who deserve loans get them. They aim to share later this year some of their techniques in hopes of nudging the broader industry forward. The new tools are being applied to scorecards that date back to the 1950s when calculations were made with paper and pencil.