The present invention relates to a system and methods by which the risk associated with a new opportunity or new or ongoing relationship may be assessed. An example of such new opportunity or new relationship for which the present invention may be used to assess the risk is that concerning a potential new customer of a financial institution. The risk assessment of the present invention may be used to assess whether a new customer should be taken on as a customer and, if so, to what extent should the possible full range of account benefits be provided to the new customer. Other applications include assessing risk regarding a candidate for employment, assessing casualty loss and/or repayment risk in the insurance industry, and assessing risk in a landlord tenant relationship to determine whether or not to rent to the prospective tenant and if so, the amount of the security deposit.