Experian’s Commercial Bureau

Effective lending starts with accurate data.

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The power of accurate data & insight

Experian's Commercial Credit Bureau is a market-leading source of information on British businesses and their financial health. The bureau compiles information on credit consumption, payment behaviour and current account turnover. Our data, people and processes are trusted by over 35,000 clients, across every industry and size.

The accuracy and availability of our bureau data is critical. For over 30 years, our data informs market-level insight and analysis, helping your business stay up-to-date with market trends and optimise credit strategy.

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Our regular updates have been created to bring you all the latest commercial credit, risk and economic insights you need in our regular, easy to digest email.

The data behind Experian Commercial Bureau

Experian’s Commercial Credit Bureau holds added-value data on the vast majority of the active limited population and over 3.25 million active non-limited businesses sourced from a wide range of data sources: public information, mandatory data sharing, voluntary data sharing and Consumer Credit data for Directors.

Cashflow is a necessity for any business and the key to discerning business risk and capacity to borrow is understanding income and expenditure, whether there is stress within the business, and if they are stable, growing or contracting.

Commercial CATO data (Current Account Turnover with 10.9 million current accounts) provides this view, making up for the shortcomings in Companies House data by offering an up-to-date picture of the cashflow position of a business and thus its ability to repay credit.

When combined with Commercial CAIS data (Commercial Credit Account Information Sharing, 19.15 million commercial credit accounts) we can understand what borrowing a business has, whether they are paying on time and the velocity of change in borrowing - which means we can really understand the business from a credit perspective and its capacity to borrow.

Our trade credit programme, Payment Performance, enriches this picture by showing how long an organisation takes to pay its bills and movements in ‘Days Beyond Terms’, which is a predictive indicator in understanding the changing fortunes of a business.

Commercial affordability

Being able to assess the affordability of facilities quickly and effectively for commercial customers has never been more critical. Not only does it help meet increasing demands from regulators – especially with respect to responsible lending and Consumer Duty, it also improves margins based on reduced referrals and underwriting; minimises bad debt through reliable and automated application of affordability criteria; and enhances and accelerates customer experiences to create new competitive edge.

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The power of accurate data

Accurate bureau data powers accurate risk scores. Let's talk.

Understand how our bureau data and commercial risk scores can reduce your risk exposure and power more informed lending decisions.

ESG and credit risk for lenders

  • ESG (environmental, social and governance) assessment linked to climate-related risks: lenders must report and act on climate change and carbon emissions.
  • Accurate emission estimates and carbon footprint for portfolio customers.
  • Target greener products to reduce carbon emissions based on the carbon footprint of individuals and businesses in the portfolio.
  • Readily accessible data on greenhouse gases and emissions from UK SMEs enables development of environmentally-friendly lending agreements and greener practices.
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How Metro Bank supported SMEs in challenging times

Experian has partnered with Metro Bank to tangibly improve its lending offering and service to its SME customers through a more automated, digital journey, utilising Experian’s expertise, decisioning and commercial data to facilitate a more customer-centric experience, helping more small businesses get the funding they need to grow.

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The depth and breadth of the data we hold means our scores are stronger and more accurate

For over 30 years we’ve collated an unparalleled range of data sources to provide businesses with accurate and reliable commercial credit information.

Our bureau contains credit account details from hundreds of lenders, along with public information and uniquely derived data. These extend across a wide range of consumer and business activities, including finance, electoral roll, limited and non-limited company data, and directorships.

Our databases are updated constantly, using rigorous quality control procedures, making them both accurate and up-to-date.

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Experian bureau data powers better lending decisions. Let’s talk.

To understand how our bureau data and commercial risk scores can reduce your risk exposure and power better informed lending decisions, fill in the form below. One of our specialists will be in touch.

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