M Doumpos & C Zopounidis 
Computational Techniques for Banking and Risk Management [PDF ebook] 

The last decades have been strongly characterized by vertiginous technological, social and economic changes. Those changes have in part positively affected our lives; however they also led to an increasing uncertainty and instability at every field of human activity. In addition, the interdependence and the interrelationship among various fields and especially between the global financial markets have created a fragile environment, which requires delicate handling and attentive movements. Thus the complexity of the systems considered in every field, nowadays, more than ever, needs the skillful manipulation of the known methodologies and techniques for the best management. Research and development give emphasis on the computational optimization as an essential, critical component. At every field of human activity, optimization is more than important. Everybody tries to optimize, minimize or maximize the cost, profit, efficiency, output. In the area of economics and finance, simple and more complex tools have been created towards this direction. Different methodologies and analytical techniques have been developed to analyze a vast number of problems such as risk management, asset pricing, portfolio construction, forecasting, interest rate modeling, capital measurement, efficiency estimation, investment evaluation, business failure, etc.