ACCIS Roundtable on National SME Information Markets Brussels, 24th September 2014
Agenda Welcome and introductory remarks European Commission initiatives on credit information markets and SME financing (Miguel de la Mano) Presentation of the Report on the ACCIS Membership Survey on National SME Information Markets (Peter van den Bosch and Neil Munroe) Q&A and roundtable discussion Concluding remarks
European Commission initiatives on credit information markets and SME financing Presented by Miguel de la Mano, Head of Unit for Analysis of Financial Market Issues at the European Commission DG MARKT
National SME Information Markets - Results of ACCIS Membership Survey presented by Neil Munroe, President and Peter van den Bosch, Vice President, Market and Industry Information
Contents Introduction to ACCIS Overview of the Survey Key results and trends Policy implications
Introduction to ACCIS Established in 1990 Now largest Association for Credit Bureau globally 43 credit bureau in 32 Countries 38 operate in 27 countries in the EEA 22 members hold data on SMEs, 19 on Businesses 13 million credit reports p.a. to consumers 850 million credit reports p.a. to businesses ACCIS Members
Context of the Survey EU report (may 2013): There are 20 million SME s in the EU. They are responsible for 66,5% of all employment, and contributing 3,4 trillion Euro in value add to EU GDP. SME s, and their access to finance, are critical to the recovery of the EU economie.
Context of the Survey The EU has made access to finance for SMEs one of its key priorities The importance of SME creditworthiness information in improving SME access to finance is increasingly recognised by European and international policy makers 2011 Action Plan on SME Access to Finance 2013 Communication on Long-Term Financing of the European Economy International Committee on Credit Reporting (ICCR) report Facilitating SME Financing through improved Credit Reporting ACCIS Members as credit information suppliers, have an important role to play
Purpose of the Survey Overall objective: collect reliable data on the functioning of the SME credit information market and contribute to the policy debate on SME financing Explore to what extent ACCIS Members are involved in collecting and providing SME information Establish what types of SME information are provided and demanded by the market Identify the main obstacles faced by credit bureaus in collecting and providing SME related information in various countries
Purpose of the Survey A questionnaire circulated in January 2014 to all ACCIS Members in the EU By March 2014, responses were received from 29 Members in 24 countries (19 EU Member States + Switzerland, Norway, Kosovo, China, Mexico)
ACCIS Respondents
Execution of the Survey The main questions concerned: Types of SME information collected ; Main sources of SME information Types of products provided using SME information Customers using SME information; Access to SME information legal and other (business, cultural) barriers to collecting SME information.
Results 85 % of the Respondents collect information on SMEs (p. 6)
Information sources Information is provided by a variety of sources, with banks, leasing and mortgage providers, SME credit suppliers and courts being the most common sources
Types of SME information Types of information collected (varies per country): Information about subsidiaries, directors, ownership Bankruptcy/insolvency data Commercial payment behaviour Outstanding credit, credit histories, late payment behaviour Credit information about directors/owners Annual reports Credit scores.
Users of SME information Many different types of customers use information about SMEs: The main users are banks, credit card suppliers, leasing providers, debt collectors and mortgage providers,
Consumer data About a half of the respondents provide consumer credit data on directors/owners, for the purpose of creditworthiness assessment of SMEs. The ability to combine consumer credit information of directors/owners with information about the business is seen as an important factor in improving SME access to credit.
Obstacles to data collection There is a significant variation as to the breath of data collected, and some ACCIS members are not able to access some data sources due to cultural or legal constraints (page 5-6 of the Report).
Regulatory Obstacles Among the most important regulatory differences, mentioned as the main obstacles to credit data collection on SMEs, are: 1. data protection rules 2. restrictions on the use of the positive information restrictions of subjects able to access SME data 3. lack of reporting requirements for SMEs (see p. 8 of the Report).
Policy implications 1. The results of the Survey confirm that information about SMEs is considered as an important factor in improving SME financing. 2. A level playing field needs to be created in implementing the European rules affecting the collection of SME data (e.g. data protection rules, SME reporting requirements). Regulatory differences are highlighted as one of the main impediments to the availability of SME data. The Survey showed that there is a real market need for the extensive use of SME information. In those countries where there were no obstacles for SME data collection/provision credit bureaus and data users collected and used SME data almost to the fullest allowed extent (pp. 8-10 of the Report).
Policy Implications (cont'd) 3. Link between SME and consumer information is critical The Survey confirmed that consumer credit histories (directors/owners) are often used for SME financing decisions. The value added by the credit reporting Industry by combining the consumer information about SME owners owners/directors with the information about the company (e.g. from lenders, available information about invoice payments etc.) helps SMEs to obtain financing that otherwise would not be available. Therefore, removing regulatory obstacles and creating conditions for appropriate functioning of the credit reporting industry helps SMEs and, through this growth of the European economy.
Any further questions? Copies of the survey are available to download from the ACCIS website www.accis.eu
ACCIS Roundtable on National SME Information Markets Q & A and Roundtable discussion
ACCIS Roundtable on National SME Information Markets Brussels, 24th September 2014