What the bank checks before granting a loan, a mortgage or a credit line: the sources, and how you can check them yourself first

In short: before granting a loan or a mortgage to a consumer, the bank must by law assess creditworthiness (art. 124-bis and art. 120-undecies of the Consolidated Banking Act, Testo Unico Bancario). It consults the credit information systems (sistemi di informazioni creditizie, SIC), the Bank of Italy's Central Credit Register, the income documents you provide and the public registers: protests, adverse records, proceedings, Companies Register. You request your confidential data free of charge; the public data you can see right away.

Why must the bank assess creditworthiness before granting a loan?

Because it is a legal obligation: for consumer credit, art. 124-bis of the Consolidated Banking Act (Testo Unico Bancario, D.Lgs. 385/1993) requires the lender to carry out a thorough assessment of creditworthiness before the contract; for consumer residential credit the same obligation is in art. 120-undecies. Both are on Normattiva, in the text in force since 10 January 2026.

Three points matter for anyone about to apply for credit. The assessment uses information that is "necessary and proportionate" to the credit requested, and social networks do not count as a source (art. 124-bis, para. 1-bis). If the application is rejected, the lender must inform you "without delay" (art. 124-bis, para. 2-sexies; art. 120-undecies, para. 5). If the assessment uses automated processing, you can ask for an explanation and a review with human intervention (art. 124-bis, para. 2-bis and following); Legislative Decree (D.Lgs.) 212/2025, which introduced these rules, gives lenders until 20 November 2026 to comply. The two provisions concern consumers: if you apply for credit for your business they do not apply, but the sources consulted are the same.

Which sources does the bank consult before granting a loan or a mortgage?

Four: the private credit information systems (SIC: CRIF/EURISC, Experian, CTC), the Bank of Italy's Central Credit Register, the income documents you provide and the public registers (protests, adverse records, insolvency proceedings, Companies Register). The first two are confidential and only you, as the data subject, can see them; the last two are seen by anyone checking you.

How do you find out whether you are reported in the SIC or the Central Credit Register?

By asking the holders of the data: access is free for the data subject, both at the Central Credit Register and at the SIC, under the right of access in art. 15 of the GDPR (EU Regulation 2016/679), with a free copy of the data and a reply within one month. No third-party service, Veryfy included, can do it on your behalf.

• Central Credit Register: Bank of Italy Servizi online portal with SPID, CIE or CNS (since 13 April 2026 the only electronic channel) or form and document at a branch; reply usually within 30 days. Loans from €30,000 and bad debts from €250 are recorded: being recorded does not mean being a bad payer.
• CRIF (EURISC): online form for individuals or companies, signed and with an identity document; free for individuals, reply within 30 days of receiving the complete documentation (there is also a paid service, Mettinconto, with a reply within one working day).
• Experian: free for those on record, using the form on the contact page, sent by certified email (PEC), e-mail or post.
• CTC: online request or PEC with the signed request and an identity document; free, reply within 30 days (up to 90 for in-depth searches), never by phone.

Retention periods are set by the Code of Conduct for credit information systems on consumer credit (Garante privacy, the Italian Data Protection Authority, 2019): regularised delays up to two instalments 12 months, beyond two instalments 24 months; non-regularised defaults 36 months from the end of the relationship, at most 60; positive data 60 months. Applications under review remain visible for 180 days, 90 if rejected or withdrawn; the first delay becomes visible to the other participants only after at least 15 days from a notice. How to read the result: how to find out if you are reported as a bad payer.

Loan with a CRIF record or mortgage with a protest: what changes?

What changes is what the bank reads, not the outcome, which only the bank decides: the law requires it to assess, not how to conclude, and no service can anticipate its decision. The real difference is who sees the data: a record in the SIC is seen by the participating banks and by you; a protest is public and anyone checking you can see it, including a supplier or a landlord.

For a protest there are ways out. It remains in the electronic register of protests for five years from its registration, then it is deleted automatically. If you paid a bill of exchange within 12 months of the protest notice, ask the Chamber of Commerce to cancel it, with the title and the receipt. After one year, if you have paid and have no other protests, you can request rehabilitation (art. 17 of Law 108/1996): the protest is considered as never having happened, and definitive cancellation takes place within twenty days of the application. An erroneous or unlawful protest is cancelled through a separate procedure, by proving it.

What can you do before applying for a loan or a mortgage?

Five steps, none of which guarantees a yes, but each one removes a surprise from the table.

• 1. Request your confidential data from CRIF, Experian, CTC and the Bank of Italy first: they are the slowest sources.
• 2. Check the public data right away: protests, adverse records, proceedings and, if you have a business, the Companies Register. Anyone checking you sees them, not only the bank.
• 3. Have errors corrected: in the SIC, with a correction request to the operator or to the intermediary that reported the data; at the Central Credit Register only the reporting intermediary can correct, with a complaint it answers within 60 days, then the Banking Arbitrator (Arbitro Bancario Finanziario, ABF) or a complaint to the Bank of Italy; for a protest, through the Chamber of Commerce procedures.
• 4. Do not multiply applications: every application under review stays visible in the SIC for up to 180 days. Choose the bank, then submit the application.
• 5. Prepare income documents that are complete and consistent: they are the only source you provide yourself.

What does the bank see in the public data in your name, and how can you see it right away?

The same data any third party sees: with the purpose "Verifica su me stesso" (self-check), the Verifica Persona report (€29) shows the protests from the electronic register of protests, the presence of adverse real-estate records (with the number, if available: they exist only if you own property) and the insolvency proceedings in your name, with source and date. The Extended tier (€49) adds positions in other companies, shareholdings and properties registered in the Land Registry (Catasto). The check is declarative: you enter your tax code and declare that it is yours. Veryfy does not access the SIC or the Central Credit Register and does not see late instalments, loans or reports: those you request free of charge yourself. If you are about to act as guarantor for someone else, see can I act as guarantor if I am reported.

If the credit is for your business, use the business funnel with the purpose "La mia azienda" (my company): you indicate how much you would like to borrow (credit line, deferral or loan) and the Verifica report (€19) compares that figure with the estimated operating credit line (fido operativo), with rating (limited companies only), warning signals (net equity below two thirds of share capital or negative, financial statements filed more than 18 months ago, company incorporated fewer than 12 months ago, protests, proceedings), shareholders, directors and beneficial owner. For protests and the presence of proceedings alone there is Negatività (€5.90, by email). See what banks and suppliers see about your company and the hub what they see about you before you apply for credit.