Abridged English version of the SCHUFA Credit Compass 2008

Debt Compass | Overview of Analyses and Core Findings
8
I Overview of Analyses and Core Findings
In order to identify reliable trends, relative and objective indicators will be examined with the Debt
Compass as a platform for over-indebtedness research. These indicators are measurable, representative
for the entire population of the Federal Republic of Germany, and can be regularly collected
as an extension of official social reporting.
Judging the extent of private over-indebtedness solely on the basis of private insolvency cases
(absolute over-indebtedness) is inadequate. Relative and absolute private over-indebtedness have
mostly developing natures, for which the delivery of an affidavit or the initiation of a private insolvency
proceeding represent merely the endpoints – inability to pay or over-indebtedness. The
Debt Compass examines the critical junctures of indebtedness. Against this background, SCHUFA
has developed a risk model with various “risk levels”. At the same time, this model is the basis
for the design of the Private Debt Index (PDI). The PDI shows in which geographical regions the
critical indicators of private debt have grown especially strongly.
As publisher of the Debt Compass research platform, SCHUFA presents five analyses in the
current 2008 Debt Compass: the analysis of SCHUFA data (Sub-Analyses A-1 and A-2) containing
examinations of SCHUFA Holding AG on the basis of its total data portfolio of information
on approximately 65 million individuals over 18 years old. This comes close to a complete census.
Analyses B, C, D and E are all external studies which are totally independent of SCHUFA and its
data. None of the findings in the external Analyses are findings or conclusions of SCHUFA, but
are exclusively the findings, pronouncements or position papers of the authors or the involved
agencies and institutes which are cited in each case.
Analysis A:
Representative evaluation of SCHUFA data
The current SCHUFA data portfolio includes around 433 million data records from around
65 million native adults in Germany. Differentiated by age group, county and Federal State,
the data was made anonymous for the Debt Compass, thus allowing for statistical reporting
on the extent of instalment loans, loan defaults and payment defaults reported by clients.
The four risk levels, which are intended to depict the procedural nature of over-indebtedness,
are an attempt to ascertain the number of individuals who are over-indebted or at risk of
becoming over-indebted.
The Private Debt Index developed by SCHUFA gives an overview of how strongly critical indicators
for private debt appear in various regions of Germany. Moreover, it forecasts how the individual
regions will develop to the end of 2009. This prognosis on the Federal State and county level is
unique in the field of over-indebtedness research.