Entities	FinRegLab (1) Urban Institute (4)
Topics and Issues	Alternative Data (18) Financial inclusion (22) Rent reporting (15)

In December 2021, FinRegLab and Urban Institute issued a report, Utility, Telecommunications, and Rental Data in Underwriting Credit.  According to the summary of the report,

Proponents have been arguing for more than 20 years that utility, telecommunications, and rental payment history can expand access to credit among historically underserved consumers without compromising sound underwriting practices or sustainable mortgage finance. Despite efforts to make such data more accessible, however, estimates are that only 2 to 5 percent of consumers who make such payments have that data in their credit bureau files today.

With policymakers, financial services companies, and other stakeholders focusing renewed attention on utility, telecom, and rental payment history, this report examines the history of efforts to tap such data for credit underwriting, empirical research on its effects on the inclusiveness and predictiveness of credit scoring models, recent developments that are both accelerating and complicating UTR initiatives, and key market and policy issues that will determine whether such efforts can reach scale.

While historical experience and current challenges suggest that utility, telecom and rental payment history information is not a panacea, the report concludes that with thoughtful development it has the potential to benefit a considerable number of consumers.