How to find my creditworthiness

To get a loan I need to have good creditworthiness. How do I find out what my creditworthiness looks like? Can I do anything to improve my creditworthiness so I have a better chance of being accepted by lenders?

Hi there,

The term "creditworthiness" refers to all aspects of your financial life which, combined, provide lenders with an idea of whether or not you are good for the money. Find a more complete deifintion of creditworthiness here.

Whether or not a bank or other lender feels you are creditworthy depends on many different factors. You can find a clear overview of all factors which make up your creditworthiness here.

If there is any aspect of your creditworthiness which is not up to standard, you should work on improving in that area before you apply for a loan.

Example 1: If you do not earn the minimum income required for a specific loan, you should not apply for that loan until your income improves to the point that it matches requirements. One way of doing this is to include all of your regular sources of income (including child benefits, for example) rather than just your main salary. You can also apply for a loan together with your spouse or registered partner and include both of your incomes in the application.

Example 2: If you are still in the trial period at your place of employment, you should wait until your trial period is over and you become fully employed before applying for a loan.

Example 3: If you have any negative entries in a debt collection register, you should square off your debts and clear up the negative entries before you apply for a loan. Unresolved entries in a debt collection register atuomatically disqualify you from receiving a loan from Swiss lenders.

You creditworthiness is also formed, in part, by individual assessments made by lenders. There is no single method used by all lenders to measure creditworthiness.

If you have had debt collection cases in the past, have outstanding loans or have borrower money in the past, your credit history is recorded by the ZEK credit bureau. You can request a copy of your credit report from the ZEK to find out what information is recorded and how the ZEK rates your creditworthiness. If your ZEK report contains negative entries, you may find it difficult to be approved for loans.

A good way to determine whether or not your fulfill the most important criteria for getting a loan is by entering basic, anonymous information about your nationality, place of residence, income and other factors in the moneyland.ch interactive loan comparison. Some lenders provide loan application simulators which you can use to find out whether you are eligible for a loan from that lender.

Best regards from Moneyguru