Lenders should not simply demand complete bank statements when applying for a loan, according to the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP). This constitutes far too great an invasion of consumer privacy, as everyday payments provide a detailed picture of a person's identity, personal preferences and lifestyle. The AP stresses that requesting such sensitive data should be prohibited in principle.
The privacy watchdog therefore advises the outgoing finance minister to clearly define in new regulations what information lenders can and cannot request. This advice follows the review of a bill that introduces stricter rules for small loans, such as "buy now, pay later," credit cards and being in the red. In addition, the creditworthiness of consumers will be better checked and registered with BKR.
AP Chairman Aleid Wolfsen points out that requiring complete bank statements can cause people to think carefully about their spending, for fear that sensitive information will reach others. Examples include payments to a dating site, medical bills or donations to religious foundations. The regulator wants to prevent this effect in order to safeguard personal freedom.
The AP emphasizes that lenders have ample opportunities to make an assessment of creditworthiness with less privacy-sensitive information. The unnecessary retrieval of full bank statements is thus disproportionate and should be limited by legislation.
