Barbell Distribution

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Definition

Barbell distribution is an informal name given to any Probability Distribution that exhibits a range that seems to be a composite of two extreme (separated) domains. A more formal name is Bimodal distribution

Issues and Challenges

In the context of the distribution of Credit Portfolio characteristics a barbell distribution may involve risk patterns that are not visible in aggregates / averages
Modelling multimodal distributions is generally more complex (involves large number of parameters)