Applied Risk Analytics in Banking and Insurance

Dear Colleagues,

Applied risk analytics in banking and insurance is entering a new stage of development, driven by the simultaneous action of several factors: the accelerated adoption of machine learning and generative artificial intelligence in credit- and insurance-risk management; tightening regulatory requirements (Basel III/IV, Solvency II, IFRS 9 and IFRS 17, and the stress tests of the ECB and the EBA); the increasing frequency of systemic and climate-related risks; geopolitical uncertainty and its consequences for market and sovereign risk; and the rapid development of alternative data sources and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) as tools for creditworthiness assessment and insurance underwriting.

Traditional risk-assessment models, although theoretically sound, often fail empirically under conditions of structural shocks, high-frequency data, and interconnected financial institutions. This calls for rigorous empirical research that combines quantitative methods—panel-data econometrics, machine learning, stress testing, VaR/ES modelling—with new data sources and demonstrable practical applicability for banks, insurers, and regulators.

This Special Issue of JRFM aims to bring together cutting-edge research in applied risk analytics for the banking and insurance sectors. We particularly welcome quantitative and qualitative methodologies, novel datasets, and evidence on the effectiveness of risk management under real institutional conditions. Submissions combining methodological rigor with practical relevance for risk management, regulatory policy, and financial stability are especially encouraged.

We invite original research articles addressing—but not limited to—the themes listed below. Manuscripts should not have been published previously and must not be under consideration elsewhere. Submissions should be made online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to the JRFM website. Accepted papers will be published continuously and listed together on the Special Issue website, and all manuscripts will be peer-reviewed through a single-anonymized process, in accordance with JRFM's standard editorial procedures. We look forward to your contributions.

Proposed Sections/Topics of Interest

1. Credit Risk and Creditworthiness Assessment: Probability-of-default modelling, machine-learning-based credit scoring, alternative data sources.
2. Market and Liquidity Risk: VaR/ES modelling, stress testing, portfolio risk analysis.
3. Operational and Cyber Risk in Banking: Quantitative assessment and institutional resilience.
4. Insurance Analytics and Underwriting: Pricing models, IFRS 17 implementation, actuarial modelling.
5. Regulatory Risk and Capital Adequacy: Basel III/IV, Solvency II, macroprudential policy.
6. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Risk Management: Explainable AI (XAI), big-data applications.
7. Climate and ESG Risk: Green finance, climate stress testing, sustainable insurance.
8. Systemic Risk and Financial Stability: Interconnectedness of institutions, network analysis.
9. Behavioural Aspects of Risk Management: Behavioural finance, decision-making under uncertainty.
10. Digitalization and FinTech Risks: Blockchain, crypto-assets, RegTech and SupTech.

Prof. Dr. Andrey Zahariev
Prof. Dr. Silvia Trifonova-Pramatarova
Dr. Plamen Ivanov
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• applied risk analytics
• credit risk modelling
• insurance underwriting analytics
• Basel III/IV capital adequacy
• Solvency II and IFRS 17
• machine learning in risk management
• systemic and climate-related financial risk
• explainable artificial intelligence (XAI)
• stress testing and financial stability
• FinTech and regulatory technology (RegTech)