Edward I. Altman, PhD: Fifty Years of Z-Scores to Predict the Probability of Corporate Bankruptcy

Abstract

Edward I. Altman is the Max L. Heine Professor of Finance, Emeritus at the Stern School of Business, New York University (NYU). He is also director of research in credit and debt markets at NYU’s Salomon Center for the Study of Financial Institutions. An internationally recognized expert on corporate bankruptcy, high yield bonds, distressed debt, and credit risk analysis, Altman has won multiple awards for his research and has served as an advisor to numerous government agencies and foreign central banks. His primary areas of research include bankruptcy analysis and prediction, credit and lending policies, and risk management and regulation in banking, corporate finance, and capital markets.

In August 2019, Edward Altman spoke with members of the Journal of Investment Consulting Editorial Advisory Board about his Z-score model for predicting the probability of corporate bankruptcies, the more recently developed models and their applications, the evolution of the credit markets, and the current credit cycle.

Keywords: Edward Altman, masters interview, Z-score

JEL Classification: G10, G11