ContextTheconsumercreditdepartmentofabankwantstoautomatethedecisionmakingprocessforapprovalofhomeequitylinesofcreditTodothistheywillfollowtherecommendationsoftheEqualCreditOpportunityActtocreateanempiricallyderivedandstatisticallysoundcreditscoringmodelThemodelwillbebasedondatacollectedfromrecentapplicantsgrantedcreditthroughthecurrentprocessofloanunderwritingThemodelwillbebuiltfrompredictivemodelingtoolsbutthecreatedmodelmustbesufficientlyinterpretabletoprovideareasonforanyadverseactionsrejectionsContentTheHomeEquitydatasetHMEQcontainsbaselineandloanperformanceinformationfor5960recenthomeequityloansThetargetBADisabinaryvariableindicatingwhetheranapplicanteventuallydefaultedorwasseriouslydelinquentThisadverseoutcomeoccurredin1189cases20Foreachapplicant12inputvariableswererecordedAcknowledgementsInspirationWhatifyoucanpredictclientswhodefaultontheirloans