CUBUS - An Assistant for Fundamental Corporate Analysis

Granting credits to commercial customers is one of the central activities of a bank. Avoiding incorrect credit decisions and minimizing the required effort are crucial factors for the economic success of a bank. The basic task of credit granting is a correct valuation of the customer, which includes the analysis of his(her) annual account and the estimations of the customer's solvency. The bank is increasingly forced to deal with nonfirst-class debtors to keep and, perhaps, improve its market share. This situation leads to two main problems: (1) the increasing risk of loss because of the activities itself and (2) the increasing costs connected with the supervision of solvency to control the risks. With knowledge of these facts, it becomes evident that a bank is required to possess innovative means to check and supervise the solvency that allow an immediate and efficient realization of risks, that is, reduction in costs, in terms of solvency as well as the rational use of personnel. Only a minor part of the knowledge that is necessary for the analysis and valuation of commercial customers is available in a well-documented form. Individual experience is of great importance considering the fact that there are only a few standard procedures and few generally ac