Raffaella Calabrese

Professor Raffaella Calabrese is Personal Chair of Statistics and Data Science at the University of Edinburgh Business School. She is also a Jean Monet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. Her work bridges academic research with practical applications in the financial sector, collaborating with institutions across the UK, US, China, and multiple EU countries including the European Commission, European Banking Authority, Bank of England, and various financial institutions and Fintech companies.

Professor Calabrese's research focuses on cutting-edge areas at the intersection of finance, data science, and sustainability. Her primary research interests include Climate Stress Testing, Open Banking, FinTech, credit risk modeling (with expertise in scoring models, Loss Given Default, stress testing, interpretability and fairness), the impact of climate change on credit risk, access to finance for small businesses, machine learning techniques, and spatial econometrics. Her work has significant practical implications for financial institutions, regulators, and policy makers seeking to understand and mitigate financial risks in an increasingly complex economic environment.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward integrating advanced machine learning techniques with traditional credit risk modeling, while increasingly focusing on climate-related financial risks. This reflects the evolving nature of financial risk assessment in response to both technological innovation and environmental challenges.

• Jean Monet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence
• Assessor for Innovate UK
• Assessor for ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council)

Professor Calabrese has successfully led and participated in numerous research projects totaling over £7 million in funding. She currently leads multiple significant projects including the Inclusive Open Finance Passport (£300k), Early Warning Signal Detection for Corporate risk (£300k), Open Finance Sandbox (£200k), and co-leads the Understanding how constraints on access to finance and under-investment impact on productivity growth in smaller firms (£1.6m). She advises EU Supervisory Digital Finance Academy funded by the European Commission and consults with UK Fintech companies on Open Banking applications. Her research team consists of four postdoctoral researchers and two PhD students, indicating her active role in mentoring the next generation of researchers.

Professor Calabrese leads the Credit Research Centre and is affiliated with the Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations. Her collaborative approach is evident in her extensive network of partnerships with financial institutions, government bodies, and regulators across multiple countries, creating a robust ecosystem for translating research into practical financial solutions.