Skip to main content

What if banks could detect financial distress before it’s too late?

lfin |

lfin
11 May 2026, modified on 12 May 2026

 

Arnaud Germain (LFIN)

At the intersection of finance and machine learning, PhD researcher Arnaud Germain is developing new ways to identify early warning signs of corporate default.

As part of his PhD at UCLouvain and the Louvain Finance Center, under the supervision of Professor Frédéric Vrins, his research focuses on credit risk: predicting which firms are more likely to experience financial trouble.

Instead of relying on one single global model, he groups similar firms together and builds more targeted prediction models, while also accounting for changing macroeconomic conditions.

In today’s uncertain economic environment, earlier detection of financial distress can make a real difference for financial institutions.

After completing his PhD, Arnaud will join NEOMA Business School as Assistant Professor, continuing research that combines methodological innovation with real-world impact.