attemptingtomeasurefirmperformanceonthebasisofqualitativedataareexemplifiedbyBertelsetal.Formalormathematicalmodelingoffinancetheorybeganinthelates.TheworkofMarkowitzrepresentsamajormilestone.Thepracticereachedits“take-off”stageasasub-disciplineofFinanceduringtheearlys.Someoftheearlyeffortsweredirectedatevaluatingafirmforpurposesofmergersandacquisitions;somedealtwithusinginvestmentportfoliostomanaisionsupportsystemsbackedbyanalyticaltoolstomeasure,monitor,manage,andcontrol,financialandoperationalrisksandinefficiencies.Consciousrisk-takingdecisionscallforquantitativerisk-managementsystems,which,inturn,providethebankearlywarningsforpredictingpotentialbusinessfailures.Thus,aneffectiverisk-monitoringunitsupportsmanagers’judgmentsand,hence,theprofitabilityofthebank.Apotentialclient'screditrisklevelisoftenevaluatedbythebank'sinternalcreditscoringmodels.Suchmodelsofferbanksame