Context Variables

Some variables have different values depending on their context. Throughout this guide, we refer to these as Context Variables.

Examples

Gross Monthly Income can include the combined income from both applicants. But in some cases, such as applications with a Co-Signer, you may want to consider the applicant and co-applicant incomes separately or simply use the applicant with the highest or lowest income.

Credit scoring and pricing strategies differ from one institution to another. One always prices using the primary applicant credit score while another will use the best score.

The chart below defines all available contexts. Note that the contexts vary from one variable to another. Score variables, for example have Best and Worst contexts, while Number of Established Trades has High and Low.

Context	Meaning
Applicant	Always uses the Applicant’s value
Co-Applicant	Always uses the Co-Applicant’s value. This context is unavailable in matrices and has limited use in Custom Rule Editors. Any custom rule that has a Co-Applicant variable will only be run on applications with a Co-Applicant. Co-Applicant data will not exist on an individual application and, therefore, these rules will not be run on individual applications.
Combined	The sum of the Applicant and Co-Applicant values. De-duplication of items that appear on the Applicant’s and Co-Applicant’s credit report occurs before the sum is calculated
Average	The average of the Applicant and Co-Applicant values
High/Low	The higher (or lower) of the Applicant and Co-Applicant values
Best/Worst	The best (or worst) of the Applicant and Co-Applicant values. This context is only available with credit scores. If a credit score is "missing" it is considered the worst.
Both	Plots out the variables for Applicant in all Axis with Both context variables to obtain the Applicant’s result, then does the same for the Co-Applicant. The two results are then compared. The Evaluation Method selected then determines whether the most favorable or least favorable result is used for the application being processed. This context is only available in Matrices

NOTE1: Variables involving an evaluation of both the Applicant and Co-Applicant information (Combined, Average, Best/Worst, High/Low, and Both) will use the Applicant data on individual applications.

NOTE2: Regarding credit bureau scores

o	If a credit bureau score is "missing" due to the credit bureau being unable to score the credit report, for the purpose of evaluating the score in matrices and rules, the value is set to the highest risk score for the given model.

o	When calculating the Average context variable, if one applicant has a "missing" score, that score is excluded and the average is the score of the applicant with a valid score. If both applicants have a "missing" score, the average is the highest risk score of the given model.

o	If a CBx Variable is used in a matrix or rule and there is no model selected for the CBx Score (which could occur with credit bureau failover), then the variable will be null. We will be unable to evaluate the matrix/rule.

NOTE3: Many contexts are eliminated when the “Pull credit report on co-applicant”, found in the Credit work area, is unchecked.

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