Abridged English version of the SCHUFA Credit Compass 2008

Debt Compass | Retrospective Glance
14
2004 Debt Compass
The numerous requests from the public, practitioners and researchers received by SCHUFA since
the publication of the first Debt Compass has encouraged SCHUFA to further differentiate and
expand the Debt Compass. It became clear as early on as during the preliminary work on the first
Debt Compass that many sub-aspects would have to be taken into account on a broad data basis
to be able to more comprehensibly understand private debt and over-indebtedness. The central
task for the 2004 Debt Compass was thus to supplement the previous customary indicators of
private over-indebtedness more broadly.
The SCHUFA data portfolio was made anonymous and evaluated statistically with respect to
the loans, defaults on loans and payment defaults reported by clients. The interactive map of
Germany with geographical peculiarities concerning debt and a risk model to differentiate
between risk levels and degrees debt and over-indebtedness was developed for the first time.
Developments concerning the amount of credit, payment defaults and risk groups could be
presented clearly and on a national level.
On the basis of further representative studies, additional perspectives from over-indebtedness
research were taken into account. Gunter E. Zimmermann employed the term over-indebtedness
on the basis of the Attachment Schedule and the Federal Social Assistance Act. The market
research institute MANAGEMENT consult collected information on risk situations in representative
household interviews on the topic of how to deal with private loans. Winfried Hacker introduced
loan servicing self-management as a central category to examine ways out of debt. The international
comparison by Udo Reifner and Helga Springeneer helped to categorize the analyses
of the Debt Compass on a global level.