This forthcoming study examines a proposed approach to credit reporting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The relative narrow and targeted credit reporting response from the CARES Act appears to have been largely successful. However, there were calls by some members of Congress for an outright system-wide ban on credit reporting any adverse information, covering all consumers during (and for some period after) the COVID-19 crisis—a policy referred to as “suppression and deletion.” This research uses 5 million credit records from 2011 and 2017 to simulate the impact on credit scores and, more importantly, on consumer access to credit if the large-scale suppression and deletion policy were implemented.
Philippine Credit Information Study
This report analyzes the Philippine credit information sharing system and offers recommendations and possible amendments to the Credit Information Sharing Act (CISA) in order to improve and modernize the system.
Credit Information Sharing in Hong Kong
This paper evaluates the credit information sharing system dynamics in Hong Kong, including data gaps, the real estate bubble, and the new entrant.
Addition is Better than Subtraction: The Risks from Data Suppression and the Benefits of Adding More Positive Data in Credit Reporting
This report looks at the potential impacts of negative credit data suppression or deletion measures during the COVID-19 pandemic period. While the proposed measures are well-intended, they harm more consumers than they help. Instead, the report recommends adding positive telecommunications payments to make the system fairer and more forgiving, giving consumers a chance to rebuild their credit history, since negative telecommunications data is already reported. This solution also protects the integrity of the national credit reporting system, vital for post-pandemic economic recovery.
Alternative Data Initiative: Report & Study Summaries
This paper summarizes PERC’s research into alternative data.
Reply to the HTF Report on Building a PCR in India
This report addresses the Reserve Bank of India’s High-Level Task Force (HTF) Report published in June 2018 regarding the proposed Indian public credit registry (PCR).
The Case for a Public Credit Registry in India: Additional Evidence for Consideration
This paper examines a range of policy and market issues associated with the proposed introduction of a public credit registry (PCR) in India.
The Impact of Credit Reporting and Credit Scoring on the MFI Sector
This research analyzes a series of questions pertaining to the impacts on microfinance institutions (MFIs) when using credit bureau data (conventionally referred to as credit files) for purposes of underwriting credit; for the same purposes, it also analyzes credit scoring models and credit decisioning platforms that use credit bureau data.
Data Protection and Credit Information Sharing
This white paper discusses different data protection regimes and argues that whether a system is considered siloed or omnibus what really matters (in a practical sense) are the details and whether there is sufficient regulatory flexibility to account for “on the ground” realities. Credit information sharing is a focus of the white paper.
Changing the Lending Landscape: Credit Deserts, the Credit Invisible, and Data Gaps in Silicon Valley
This report presents findings from the pilot effort of the Credit Deserts Project, which aims to map the incidence of Credit Invisibility, in which consumers have credit reports with no or insufficient data with which to generate a traditional credit score. Previous research suggests that Credit Invisibles disproportionately live in lower income areas of communities and help form what we call Credit Deserts.