Asiakastieto has been providing corporate debt information to various players in the financial sector since 2021. The new service based on data sharing has been enthusiastically received; customers see the value of positive data. Ultimately, this should help reduce credit losses.

The positive information on business credit has aroused the interest of companies in the financial sector. The BLIS service has already collected data on more than 17,000 Finnish companies in a short period of time, and more than 10,800 open loan applications from companies have been made.

 

BLIS stands for Business Loan Information System.

The service launched and operated by Asiakastieto works in such a way that participating financiers, with the consent of the loan applicant, make available to other parties information about their business clients who have received credit. Up-to-date information on company debts helps credit providers avoid credit losses.

"There has been a need for faster data on payment behavior. Positive credit information from businesses is automatically updated daily. The system shows the amount of credit applied for, the amount of credit extended, the drawdown date, the installment, the loan term and the payment terms. The service displays the payment history of the last 12 months and information about the next two payment dates," explains Markus Hallberg, product manager at Asiakastieto.

Financiers can use the information from the BLIS service, for example, as supplementary material for credit rating.

 

The number of financiers doubles

The positive business credit information managed by Asiakastieto is a continuation of a similar service for consumers, which has been in use since 2013. The service includes about 40 banks and finance companies operating in Finland. Positive credit information can already be found on 1.5 million Finnish consumers.

The idea behind positive business credit information is the same: the more actors involved, the more information about the client companies can also be found in the service.

"There are currently five financial companies involved that share information with each other. I think that number will double in the next six months. The dream, of course, would be for everyone who finances companies to join us," Hallberg says.

According to him, the average loan amount granted to companies is about 17,000 euros with a loan duration of 15 months. From the size and short duration of the loans, it can be concluded that the majority of the loans are granted to small or medium-sized enterprises in search of working capital.

"However, this is not last-minute emergency financing for a company, as one in four companies applying for a new loan has a rating of AA or better in Asiakastieto's credit rating," Hallberg says.