The evolution of loan level data in Ireland

In recent years developing a granular credit database has been a key part of the Central Bank of Ireland’s (CBI) strategy to tackle the issues faced by the domestic financial sector. The initial motivation for this development was the need for detailed and extensive data on the loan-books of Irish-headquartered banks for prudential purposes. This has since broadened to the establishment of an official granular credit database for wider use by the CBI, industry and consumers. This paper discusses the progress to date in this area, the main challenges faced, and the lessons learned for the future.