BISG Proxy Data Update Available

There is a new version of the Surname Probability table that is used for the Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding (BISG) proxy methodology in Comply. We made some minor adjustments to the suppressed values in the table as per instructions in the CFPB proxy methodologies. These updated values can help increase the accuracy of the proxy calculations by less than one percent on average. You will want to update the data at your earliest convenience just to be fully up-to-date and get the best results possible.

Updating the Surname table in Comply is a simple System Data import. If you use Auto Updates and the Census Bureau/Social Security Proxy Data option is checked, the new table should download automatically to be applied. This option is not normally on by default. To change it, simply go to the System ribbon, then Options, then Auto-Updates and check the applicable box for Census Bureau/Social Security Proxy Data. If your institution does not use Auto-Updates, you can download the PROXY_v04.rz file at https://support.rataassociates.com/dl_proxy.asp.

As always if you have any questions or comments, or would simply like more information regarding the changes to the table, feel free to call us to discuss.

As a refresher, here is a little history leading up to the last changes made to the data in 2017

From the CFPB Website - https://github.com/cfpb/proxy-methodology

In the summer 2014 edition of Supervisory Highlights,3 the Bureau previously reported that examination teams use a Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding (BISG) proxy methodology for race and ethnicity in their fair lending analysis of non-mortgage credit products. The BISG methodology relies on the distribution of race and ethnicity based on place-of-residence and surname, which are publicly available information from Census. The method involves constructing a probability of assignment to race and ethnicity based on demographic information associated with surname and then updating this probability using the demographic characteristics of the census block group associated with place of residence. The updating is performed through the application of a Bayesian algorithm, which yields an integrated probability that can be used to proxy for an individual's race and ethnicity.4

Through March of 2017, examination teams had relied on the surname list derived from the 2000 Decennial Census of the Population in their construction of the BISG proxy for race and ethnicity.5 In December 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau released a list of the most frequently occurring surnames based on data derived from 2010 Decennial Census of the Population. The updated 2010 list generally uses the same definitions and formats as the list based on the 2000 Census but includes updated values for total counts and race and ethnicity shares associated with each surname.6 In total, the new surname list provides information on the 162,253 surnames that appear at least 100 times in the 2010 Census, covering approximately 90% of the population.7 While 146,516 names appear on both the 2000 and 2010 surname lists, the 2010 list contains 15,737 names that do not appear on the 2000 list, whereas the 2000 list contains 5,155 names that do not appear on the 2010 list.8

As of April 2017, examination teams are relying on an updated proxy methodology that reflects the newly available surname data from the Census Bureau. Our updated proxy methodology relies on the race and ethnicity shares for the 162,253 names that appear on the 2010 list and supplements this list with the race and ethnicity shares for the 5,155 names that appear on the 2000 list but not on the 2010 list, resulting in a list of 167,409 surnames in total.9