Research
Millions of consumers and small businesses struggle to access affordable credit because of gaps and weaknesses in traditional financial information systems. FinRegLab is investigating non-traditional data sources to evaluate their effects on predictiveness, fairness, and inclusion, with a particular focus on additional sources of financial data that can be used for credit underwriting.
The Use of Cash-Flow Data in Underwriting Credit
Records from consumers’ deposit and card accounts and from small businesses’ accounting software can provide a relatively detailed and comprehensive picture of how applicants manage their finances on an ongoing basis. FinRegLab conducted an empirical assessment of the data’s benefits and risks, as well as market and policy analyses of the challenges to its wider adoption.
Learn MoreUtility, Telecom & Rental Payment History
Utility, telecom, and rental payment history can help to assess how credit applicants manage housing and other recurring expenses. FinRegLab and the Urban Institute have examined available research, historical and recent initiatives to increase data access and use for credit underwriting, and market and policy issues that will determine whether such efforts can reach scale.
Learn MoreRecent Publications
See the individual research project pages for additional publications.
Utility, Telecommunications, and Rental Data in Underwriting Credit (Dec. 2021)
FinRegLab partnered with the Urban Institute to detail twenty years of research and efforts to access utility, telecom, and rental payment history for credit scoring and underwriting. The paper describes recent initiatives and key challenges going forward.
Read MoreConsumer Financial Data: Legal and Regulatory Landscape (Oct. 2020)
FinRegLab partnered with the Financial Health Network, Flourish Ventures, and Mitchell Sandler to provide a working paper summarizing the current U.S. federal legal framework governing consumer financial data with the goal of laying a foundation for future policy analyses and discussions.
Read MoreThe Use of Cash-Flow Data in Underwriting Credit: Market Context & Policy Analysis
(Feb. 2020)
This report provides a detailed snapshot of the use of cash-flow data in U.S. consumer lending and the development of the system for transferring data between firms, in addition to analyzing policy and regulatory issues raised by cash-flow underwriting in both consumer and small business credit markets.
Read MoreThe Use of Cash-Flow Data in Underwriting Credit: Empirical Research Findings
(July 2019)
We conducted an independent analysis of data from six firms that use cash-flow metrics to assess consumer and small business applicants. Using loan level performance data, we evaluated the information’s implications for predictiveness, inclusion, and fairness.
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