News Archive

UWA Business School
Every time the world encounters another bankruptcy, 2010 NWQ Visiting at the UWA Business School Professor Edward Altman sits back with his wife and pops open another champagne bottle. At least, that's what he told audience members at his recent public lecture at the UWA Business School.

But no, it's not because he thrives on other people's misery. Rather, bankruptcy gives him more data to feed into his research: bankruptcy analysis and prediction; credit and lending policies; and risk management.

Altman's research has proved groundbreaking, with his Z-Metrics Credit Analysis Tool, developed in collaboration with Risk Metrics, having provided a new and accurate method of risk analysis. The tool provides an accurate estimation of company credit ratings and default risk probabilities by assigning companies one of 15 ratings, from ZA+ through to ZF-.

As Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business, New York University, and the Director of Research in Credit and Debt Markets at NYU's Salomon Center for the Study of Financial Institutions, Altman's expertise is highly sought after.

That's why Western Australian academics and business leaders were excited to have Professor Altman in Perth during April. As the NWQ Visiting Professor in Alternative Investments, Altman gave public lectures and seminars, as well as teaching at the AIM-UWA Business School Alliance.

Jonathan Horton, Managing Partner, NWQ Capital Management Pty Ltd, said Professor Altman's visit was warmly received by the business community. ‘Professor Altman's work is well known and understood by NWQ Capital Management and his research adds considerable context and value to our hedge fund manager selection process.'

‘NWQ Capital Management is proud to have made this visit possible and looks forward to sponsoring other world-leading academics.'

During his public lecture, Altman explained to the audience the building up of the credit bubble, and why it burst in 2007. He also went on to talk about credit markets, corporate defaults, and the estimated size of the distressed debt asset market.

With credit markets becoming tighter in the wake of the financial crisis, Professor Altman's ideas have provided new ideas for business and academics alike.

Media Contacts

Heather Merritt
Director, External Relations
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 8171
E: [email protected]

Verity Chia
Communications Officer
UWA Business School
E: [email protected]