• The large majority of the ACCIS members completed the survey (39 of 42 CRAs), which means that the survey is representative for the ACCIS members.
• It also provides a good representation of the CRAs in Europe. In total the CRAs that responded to this survey are active in 28 European countries, including 16 of the 27 EU Member States.
• There are large differences among the CRAs in terms of their business models. The large majority of the CRAs are for profit organisations, while a minority is non-for profit.
• There is a large variety in ownership ranging from foundations and governments, to credit associations and a group of banks, to listed and non-listed companies.
• The coverage of the CRAs also varies significantly. In general, those CRAs that collect a larger range of positive and negative data based on a specific law cover more borrowers.

Most CRAs hold and collect information on mortgages, consumer loans, credit and store cards, and borrowing on a current account.
Consistently with the results of the 2012, 2015 and 2017 surveys, the depth of the data on ‘mainstream’ lending products covered by members, such as consumer loans, credit and store cards, mortgages, and overdrafts, is the highest in terms of both negative and positive data.
CRAs on average obtain and supply more negative and positive data across all types of services than in 2017.
Credit application, portfolio monitoring, and identity checking are the most frequently used services by clients of CRAs.
Banks, leasing companies, credit card and retail credit suppliers as well as mortgage providers and credit unions are the most common users of CRAs services.
More than half of the CRAs provide educational materials to help borrowers improve their ‘financial health’.

Nearly half of the lenders have a legal obligation to consult CRAs.
A majority of CRAs reported that the access to public/court data collected by CRAs is permitted, whereas a minority of CRAs highlighted that it is required by national legislation.
About half of the CRAs are subject to specific legal/regulatory schemes for entering the market. A substantial minority of the CRAs are further subject to specific provisions governing them.
More than one-third of the CRAs are subject to direct supervision by a national supervisory authority.
Most of the CRAs process data based on the legitimate interests. But specific laws also form an important ground for CRAs to process data. In some cases, consent is required for the processing of processing of positive data.
Consumers have the right to access their data with CRAs.
Consumers have the right to dispute their data with CRAs, yet less than one-fifth of the CRAs give consumers the right to add comments to their file.

More than one-quarter of the CRAs share data across borders and have access to data from CRAs in other ountries.
Only a minority of CRAs share data directly with financial institutions in other countries.

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