Determining the Probability of Default and Risk-Rating Class for Loans in the Seventh Farm Credit District Portfolio

Credit risk is the primary risk facing financial institutions. With the proposed guidelines under the New Basel Accord, financial institutions will benefit from better assessing their risks. The probability of default (PD) and risk-rating class is studied for 157,853 loans in the Seventh Farm Credit District Portfolio. Repayment capacity, owner equity, and working capital origination loans are important determinants of the PD. Standard & Poor's (S&P) reported probabilities of default were used to classify each of the loans into a risk-rating class. The average predicted PD is 1.61%, which would fall into the BB - S&P class. Copyright 2005 American Agricultural Economics Association