The Analytical Credit Dataset (AnaCredit) is a regulatory initiative by the European Central Bank (ECB) launched in 2018 to collect detailed credit and credit risk data from financial institutions in the Eurozone. It provides comprehensive information on individual bank loans, supporting the ECB and national central banks in monetary policy analysis, macroprudential research, and financial stability monitoring.
Although the initiative empowers more informed decision-making, it also introduces complex reporting requirements for banks. RegTech solutions like RepXpress are crucial in helping reporting agents navigate these challenges efficiently.
What is AnaCredit?
In a nutshell, AnaCredit is establishing a harmonized, standardized credit database that provides granular analytical and statistical insights across the euro area banking sector. It mandates the collection of detailed loan-level data on individual bank loans exceeding EUR 25,000 for legal entities such as corporations.
AnaCredit data is fully comparable across all eurozone member states, ensuring consistency and transparency in credit reporting. By offering a comprehensive view of lending activities, AnaCredit enables a better understanding of both credit supply and demand. Hence, it allows regulators and policymakers to analyze market trends, assess financial risks, and enhance monetary policy decisions.
AnaCredit largely aims to:
- improve credit risk analysis through loan-level risk assessment
- increase transparency and harmonization of credit reporting across euro member states
- enhance financial stability by identifying systemic risks in the banking sector
The AnaCredit regulation is mandatory for banks in euro-area countries and optional for other EU nations, particularly those involved in the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). However, it is also obligatory for countries preparing to join the euro, such as Bulgaria, which is currently in the Eurozone’s waiting room.
The Bulgarian National Bank has already launched the AnaCredit preparation process, and in 2024, it underwent serious testing. AnaCredit replaces some of the current reporting required by credit institutions, and significantly expands its scope. At present, banks in the country need to become compliant, whereas non-banking financial institutions will need to start reporting by the end of 2025.
How AnaCredit Strengthens Risk Management
AnaCredit significantly contributes to the enhanced risk management of banks and regulators. It helps financial institutions make informed decisions, mitigate systemic risks, and ensure better risk assessment. In particular, it supports key risk management aspects such as:
1. Credit Risk Assessment
AnaCredit provides granular, loan-level data, allowing banks and regulators to assess borrower creditworthiness, track loan performance, and detect early signs of credit deterioration.
2. Systemic Risk Monitoring
By providing standardized credit data across the Eurozone, AnaCredit helps regulators and central banks monitor systemic financial risks, including cross-border exposures, sectoral credit concentration, and emerging financial vulnerabilities.
3. Regulatory Supervision
AnaCredit enhances regulatory oversight by providing a consistent framework for monitoring bank credit risks and financial stability. Regulators can cross-check AnaCredit data with other financial reports (e.g., COREP, FINREP) to detect discrepancies or misreported credit risks.
Challenges for Regulatory Compliance
AnaCredit reporting presents significant challenges for reporting agents due to the complexity of data collection, stringent validation rules, and IT system limitations.
With a reporting form of 94 data “attributes” and 7 unique identifiers, the AnaCredit regulation requires reporting agents to introduce unprecedented levels of detail in data collection in a standardized reporting format. The need for comprehensive loan-level data across multiple attributes—such as counterparty details, loan structures, credit risk metrics, and collateral information— places significant pressure. Additionally, this reporting must be completed on a monthly and quarterly basis.
Besides data availability, many banks also face challenges with data quality. National central banks (NCBs) are increasingly cross-checking data against other statistical reports, resulting in frequent requests for resubmission. As a result, banks often have to reconcile historical data, correct mismatches, and align reporting standards, adding to their operational complexity.
Finally, many reporting agents face difficulties with their legacy systems and data silos which prevent seamless integration of requirements into existing reporting frameworks. Financial institutions must ensure accurate, complete, and timely data collection, often requiring them to integrate information from multiple internal systems, validate its accuracy, and reconcile discrepancies.
To overcome these challenges, RegXpress streamlines data management, enhances reporting accuracy, and automates compliance processes.
RepXpress for AnaCredit compliance reporting
Sirma’s RepXpress is an advanced reporting solution that integrates and validates data from multiple sources, ensuring accurate and compliant reporting for financial institutions. It fully automates the monitoring and control processes and provides intelligent insights for informed decision-making. Thus, it empowers banks and financial institutions with an extensible business reporting database.
RepXpress seamlessly integrates the financial institution’s data warehouse sources with AnaCredit regulatory reporting framework. Equipped with advanced functionality, it facilitates the processing of required data, ensuring accurate reporting on credit process participants and their exposures. An integral part of the solution is the accessible interface that facilitates the business user’s activities.
Conclusion
AnaCredit is an ECB initiative that collects detailed credit and credit risk data across the euro area. It enhances risk management by improving credit risk assessment, systemic risk monitoring, and regulatory supervision. It enables more informed monetary policy decisions and ensures a more resilient financial system.
By building a unified reporting framework, AnaCredit enables better data comparability across all euro member states. Yet, the extraordinary level of detail and the reporting schedule it envisages create new demanding reporting requirements for banks. The latter is challenging due to data availability and quality difficulties, strict validation rules, and legacy IT constraints. Appropriate RegTech solutions such as RepXpress are already addressing the challenge and are helping reporting agents stay compliant.
