While traditional credit reports and scores provide a moment-in-time snapshot of consumers’ creditworthiness, trended credit data provides a more detailed and dynamic view, said America's Credit Unions Senior Economist Dawit Kebede.  

In this month’s Economic Update, Kebede explains utilizing trended credit data to gain deeper insights into consumer behavior. Kebede notes that using this kind of updated view of consumer credit behavior ultimately benefits consumers overall.

“Trended credit data is already in some existing credit score models,” says Kebede. “Credit unions should provide information to their members to help them understand how certain behaviors can impact their credit risk assessment as more detailed information about their financial behavior is incorporated into new credit scoring models.”