Gadget Fatigue
The result of having to deal with too many gadgets.

GAIN
Gone Away Information Network. A UK non-competitive, industry-wide shared information scheme for identifying and tracing absconders who are in arrears.

Gate
A collection of agents that share a common set of skills, such as being able to handle customer complaints. Also see Agent Group.

Gateway
A server dedicated to providing access to a network.

Gaussian Distribution
A function that represents the distribution of many random variables as a symmetrical bell-shaped graph. Also known as Bell Curve and Normal Distribution.

GDP
Acronym for Gross Domestic Product. This is a measure of the production of all goods and services in a country, usually expressed as an annual total. Year-on-year changes in GDP can be used to assess the relative strength or weakness of the economy.

Gearing
Percentage of debt as proportion of debt plus equity. See Financial Leverage.

General Credit
Credit extended by a financial institution that permits a customer to use their credit with a variety of merchants. Visa/MasterCard are examples of General Credit cards, as compared to private label retail cards that are only usable in a retailer's branches.

Generated Characteristic
A characteristic created from two or more other characteristics. For example, the characteristic loan value is generated from the loan amount requested and the property value of the residence.

Generation X
Descriptive term for post baby-boomers who are 18-29 years old.

Generic Scorecard
A scorecard that has been developed when there is insufficient data to develop an empirical scorecard. In these instances, the scorecard will be developed based on the scorecard supplier’s experience. Also known as Judgmental Scorecard or a Start-up Scorecard.

Genetic Algorithms
Optimisation techniques that use processes reminiscent of genetic combination, mutation, and natural selection in a design based on the concepts of natural evolution. A type of algorithm in the field of evolutionary computation.

Geo-demographic Systems
Classification of personal data based on various demographic criteria, e.g. census, voters roll, financial or neighbourhood data.

Geocoding
The process designating primary keys for geospatial objects and maintaining those unique identifiers in both the geospatial data layers and related tabular data subjects so that the tabular and spatial data can be related.

Geographic Information System
Software that displays data on a computer generated map. Also known as GIS.

GIF
Graphics Interchange Format - Currently the most popular form of graphics that one can format on the Web.

Gigabyte
A billion bytes (characters). Used to measure of the size of mainframe disk storage. A typical mainframe will have 100 gigabytes or more.

Gilts
Refers to debt issued by public entities, municipalities and national treasuries.

Gini-Coefficient
A statistical measure of the efficiency of a scorecard. See Lorenz Curve.

GIS
Acronym for Geographic Information System, which is Software that displays data on a computer generated map.

Global System for Mobile Communication
A widely used digital mobile phone standard. Also known as GSM.

Goal Programming
An optimisation technique used in operations research, which aims to optimise several objectives simultaneously.

Going Concern Value
Is what a company is worth if it was sold as a continuing business, as opposed to its liquidation value.

Gold Card
Gold credit cards usually have higher credit limits than normal credit cards. Gold charge cards, which normally carry a higher annual fee, are often linked to an automatic overdraft. Gold cards offer a range of special "add-on" benefits like free travel insurance.

Gone Away Information Network
Also known as GAIN. UK non-competitive, industry-wide shared information scheme for identifying and tracing absconders who are in arrears.

Good
An applicant that the business would elect to underwrite, given the benefit of hindsight.

Good Faith
Honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction.

Good Faith Estimate
This document lists the estimated fees a person will have to pay to secure a loan. It also identifies who is expected to provide services and receive fees in connection with a loan, such as credit bureaus, appraisers, and closing agents.

Good-Bad Odds
The likelihood that an applicant or an account will perform in a satisfactory manner. For example 10 to 1 means that out of 11 applicants or accounts, 10 will perform well and one will not. Also see Odds to be Good.

Good/Bad Definition
The precise business definition of good and bad accounts. This also includes definitions of indeterminate accounts and exclusions.

Goodness of Fit
The proportion of variation in the observed data that is explained by the estimated model.

Goods
Accounts that a credit grantor is glad they accepted. The criteria for a good account must be objective and is usually defined by stating a minimum time on books, minimum use of the credit and a low level of maximum delinquency. Also see Satisfactory Accounts.

Goodwill
The total cost of an acquired business, over and above the fair value of identifiable net assets. An example of goodwill would be payment for a recognised brand name.

Gopher
The original search vehicle on the Internet for locating resources.

Government Credit
Extensions of credit made to governments or governmental subdivisions or agencies.

Grace Period
The time between the statement date and the payment due date when no finance charge accrues, provided no previous balance exists. Once the account begins to revolve, interest accrues immediately on each additional purchase.

Grace Period
A grace period is the interest-free time a lender allows between the transaction date and the billing date, usually 30 days.

Graduated Payment
Repayment terms calling for gradual increases in the payments on a closed-end obligation. A graduated payment loan usually involves negative amortisation.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)
A graphics-based system that features icons, pull-down menus, a keyboard, and a mouse for users to interact with a computer.

Gremlin
A gremlin is an imaginary creature that causes trouble in devices and systems of all kinds. During the Second World War, the term was used by British airmen to refer to ongoing trouble with aircraft in spite of mechanics' best efforts. Gremlins sometimes appear today in computer systems and networks.

Grey Band
The score band that includes the marginal applications above and below the cut-off score. Additional reviews and confirmations are often applied to these applications before reaching a final decision.

Grid
A matrix found on a bureau credit profile designed to display the historical payment statuses in months prior to the current reporting month of the trades on the credit profile. The minimum time frame displayed is 24 months and varies with each credit bureau.

Gross Deposit
Submitting bankcard sales and credits at the face amount. The acquirer later deducts the discount.

Gross Domestic Product
This is a measure of the production of all goods and services in a country, usually expressed as an annual total. Year-on-year changes in GDP can be used to assess the relative strength or weakness of the economy. See GDP.

Gross Settlement
The settlement of transactions on a trade-by-trade basis, without any aggregating or netting taking place.

Grouping
Grouping the attributes in Fine Classing into larger groups in order to reduce the total number of attributes and to ensure that the sample count for each one is statistically significant. Also known as Coarse Classing or Operational Grouping.

Growth Rate
Year-over-year change, expressed as a percentage.

GSM
Global System for Mobile Communication is a digital mobile telephone system that is widely used in Europe and other parts of the world.

GSM
Global System for Mobile Communication, a widely used digital mobile phone standard.

Guarantee Fund
A fund maintained by an exchange to recompense investors in the event a member firm fails to meet its obligations.

Guaranteed Income Bond
A single premium insurance bond that pays a fixed amount of income annually and returns the original sum invested at the end of the specified period.

Guaranteed Minimum Future Value
This is where a financial institution guarantees a minimum future value on a rental or lease agreement, and undertakes to ensure that not less than this amount will be obtained at settlement.

Guaranteed Stock Market Bond
An investment vehicle, typically offered by insurance companies, which undertakes to provide a return based on rising share prices but with a guarantee that the investor will not lose their original capital amount in the event prices fall.

Guarantor
A guarantor undertakes to pay debts incurred by a third party. The guarantor is liable for any shortfall or default on the borrower’s debt.

GUI
Acronym for Graphical User Interface. A graphics-based system that features icons, pull-down menus, a keyboard, and a mouse for users to interact with a computer. See Interface.