The Central Credit Register (CR), managed by the Bank of Italy, is a database - or an information archive - on household and firms' debts towards the banking and financial system. The CR is supplied with data that the participating intermediaries (banks, financial companies and other intermediaries) send in relation to loans and guarantees granted to their customers, to guarantees received from their customers and to loans or guarantees purchased from other intermediaries.
There is a reporting threshold: a customer is reported if the sum to be repaid to the intermediary is equal to or over €30,000; this threshold is lowered to €250 if the customer has a bad debt.
Intermediaries classify a customer as a bad debtor and report them as such to the CR when they believe that he or she is in serious difficulty with loan repayments. This classification assumes that the intermediary has assessed the customer's overall financial situation and has not made it based on single events, such as one or more late debt repayments.
The Bank of Italy informs participating intermediaries about the overall indebtedness of their customers, the types of loans they have had, and whether or not they have made their payments.
Intermediaries can ask for information about persons who are not their customers but who have requested a loan or are going to provide a guarantee and could therefore become customers of theirs, for the sole purpose of assessing their creditworthiness, i.e. their ability to pay back a loan.
The CR aims to:
- improve the assessment process for creditworthiness; the CR data provide a customer's 'credit history', i.e. a description of their behaviour regarding their loan agreements;
- raise the quality of the credit granted by intermediaries;
- strengthen the stability of the financial system.
The CR favours access to credit for 'creditworthy' customers: it is easier for people with a good 'credit history' to get a loan and be offered better conditions.
You can access to the data recorded in the CR in your name free of charge by sending a specific request. Detailed information is available on the Access to CR data webpage.
CR data are confidential; the Bank of Italy does not require the consent of those concerned to process their data, as it carries out this activity in the public interest (Article 6, letter (e) of the GDPR). The participating intermediaries are also exempt (Article 6, letter (c) of the GDPR) from the obligation to obtain the consent of the those concerned, as the data is communicated to the CR pursuant to law and in compliance with of Article 2-ter of the Privacy Code.
Useful information
Banks and financial companies are responsible for the accuracy of the reports sent to the CR. To correct any errors made in the reports, the person concerned should contact the intermediary directly who is then obliged to cancel and correct the incorrect reports as soon as possible.
In the event of problems or disputes, a customer can submit a complaint directly with the intermediary, have recourse to an alternative dispute settlement system (Banking and Financial Ombudsman - ABF) or apply to a judicial tribunal. Further information on complaints is available on the relevant webpage.
