Sébastien Saurin

Thematic seminars
big data and econometrics seminar

Sébastien Saurin

Université d'Orléans
The Fairness of Credit Scoring Models
Venue

IBD Amphi

Îlot Bernard du Bois - Amphithéâtre

AMU - AMSE
5-9 boulevard Maurice Bourdet
13001 Marseille

Date(s)
Tuesday, February 4 2025| 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Contact(s)

Sullivan Hué: sullivan.hue[at]univ-amu.fr
Michel Lubrano: michel.lubrano[at]univ-amu.fr

Abstract

In credit markets, screening algorithms aim to discriminate between good-type and bad-type borrowers. However, when doing so, they can also discriminate between individuals sharing a protected attribute (e.g. gender, age, racial origin) and the rest of the population. This can be unintentional and originate from the training dataset or from the model itself. We show how to formally test the algorithmic fairness of scoring models and how to identify the variables responsible for any lack of fairness. We then use these variables to optimize the fairness-performance trade-off. Our framework provides guidance on how algorithmic fairness can be monitored by lenders, controlled by their regulators, improved for the benefit of protected groups, while still maintaining a high level of forecasting accuracy.