Accurate and complete credit data is integral to the overall safety and soundness of the economy as well as post-pandemic economic recovery. Data suppression in the wake of COVID-19 has been a hot topic in our field today, however research shows data suppression is more harmful for consumers and credit economies than not reporting accurately with consumers in accommodation programs. In July 2020, PERC wrote a report titled Addition is Better than Subtraction: The Risks from Data Suppression and Benefits of Adding More Positive Data in Credit Reporting finding that “that data suppression/deletion measures put forward in some proposed legislation addressing the economic fallout of COVID-19 was more likely to harm borrowers than to help them.” The report also found that lower-income and minority borrowers would be most harmed by data suppression.
Join us for a live webinar on July 30th, 2020 at 2PM EST with Michael A. Turner, Ph.D., founder, President, and CEO of PERC and Patrick Walker, M.A., Director of Research of PERC to further discuss their report and why suppression/deletion of credit data poses a risk to the safety and soundness of the financial system. The event included a live Q&A session, moderated by Francis Creighton, President & CEO at the Consumer Data Industry Association. Check out our slides from the event here.