SAS Institute South Africa, in association with Nedbank Retail Business Intelligence Solutions, hosted this year's second Nedbank Analyst Forum at SAS' Johannesburg offices, on 11 October 2007. These forums are aimed at data mining practitioners such as analysts, statisticians and programmers, as well as anyone involved with data mining in fields like credit risk, marketing analytics, operational risk and financial modelling.
This second forum focused on financial modelling, and allowed attendees to learn best practices and new ideas from the industry experts presenting on the day.
These speakers were: Professor Machiel Kruger, Head of the SAS Laboratory of the Centre for Business Mathematics and Informatics at the Potchefstroom Campus of Northwest University; Geoff Meyer, a financial and analytical modelling consultant; and Roche Pretorius, a Senior Business Analyst at risk management consulting firm Monocle Solutions.
Each speaker delivered a unique aspect to the field of financial modelling, and together provided a holistic view of the benefits of enabling an organisation to predict and analyse the financial aspects of the business.
According to Professor Kruger, financial modelling is the vital foundation that is needed for retail credit portfolio optimisation. In his session he dealt with proposed financial models and other essential building blocks necessary for addressing strategic questions around credit portfolio optimisation. As part of his presentation, Kruger also showed attendees how he used SAS OR to solve frustratingly challenging Sudoku puzzles.
Building on Kruger's presentation, Geoff Meyer discussed various analytical and financial models that can assist in creating or optimising client value proposition and product innovation. The final speaker, Roche Pretorius, shared his insights and experiences working with Monocle Solutions to construct a Probability Default Model for Lombard Loans, a popular type of personal loan in Europe. The PD model provides an internal credit risk rating for private bank clients, using advanced statistical and programming techniques.
"These forums are an excellent opportunity, not only for education but also for networking and connecting with industry experts, thought leaders and peers," says Veronica Hodgson, Account Manager for Nedbank at SAS Institute South Africa.
"This is only the second such forum we have held, but already we are seeing tremendous growth in interest and the number of professionals attending. We are aiming to hold at least one forum every quarter."
The Nedbank Analyst Forums will kick off again in the new year.
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