The Legal Framework of Consumer Credit Bureaus and Credit Scoring in the European Union: Pitfalls and Challenges—Overindebtedness, Responsible Lending, Market Integration, and Fundamental Rights

The integration of European Union (EU) credit markets is crucial for the efficient functioning of the EU financial system, for the EU economy as a whole, and for the full achievement of the four freedoms guaranteed by the EU’s internal market.1 Neither the consumer nor the mortgage-credit markets are an exception to this need for integration, and EU policymakers are paying increased attention to them. Concurrently, the market for loans available to consumers—both consumer loans and mortgage-credit loans—has grown rapidly in the last decade across the EU and is becoming increasingly sophisticated. However, the development of retail and mortgage-credit markets has increasingly left European consumers in debt. This growth of consumer indebtedness is becoming a concern for national and EU policymakers alike. . .