Credit assessment in Switzerland

What is a credit assessment?

Creditworthiness describes the assessment of how reliably a person meets their payment obligations. In the credit assessment, a lender looks at two things: what you can repay and how you have paid in the past.

The first part is a calculation: income minus fixed expenses minus existing commitments. What remains must carry the new instalment. The second part is a record: reports at ZEK and IKO show which loans, leasing agreements and cards exist and whether there have been payment disruptions.

The assessment is not a judgement of you as a person. It is an affordability calculation supported by evidence.

Why is the assessment required by law?

Because it is meant to protect against over-indebtedness. For loans subject to the KKG, Art. 28 KKG obliges the lender to assess the ability to repay before concluding the agreement.

A person is considered able to repay if they can repay the loan without touching the non-attachable part of their income — the minimum subsistence level. If your financial circumstances demonstrably worsen, the assessment must be repeated.

For this statutory calculation, repayment within 36 months is assumed — even if the contractually agreed term is longer. A term of, say, 60 or 120 months lowers the actual monthly instalment but does not increase the statutory margin of the KKG assessment.

Two things follow from this:

• For loans subject to the KKG, this assessment cannot be waived.
• In addition: granting a loan is prohibited if it leads to the over-indebtedness of the consumer. A rejection is therefore not a vote of no confidence, but sometimes the legally required response.

What exactly is examined?

Area	What is looked at	Where the information comes from
Income	regular net income from dependent employment, where applicable the partner’s income	salary statement, payslips
Fixed expenses	rent, health insurance, taxes or withholding tax, maintenance payments, lump sums for basic needs	your details in the application, evidence
Existing commitments	current loans, leasing agreements, cards with a credit option, alimony	your details plus information from ZEK and IKO
Payment history	reported payment disruptions, collection measures, losses	ZEK, IKO
Official information	debt enforcement, bankruptcies, official measures	debt enforcement register extract, ZEK
Personal details	name, first name, date of birth, address, residence, permit status	application, identity document

These figures produce a budget calculation. For the KKG assessment, the available amount must cover the statutorily assumed repayment within 36 months. In addition, eny assesses creditworthiness according to internal lending guidelines.

What role do ZEK and IKO play?

Two separate associations, two separate databases, one common purpose.

	ZEK	IKO
Name	Association for operating a Central Office for Credit Information	Association for operating an information office for consumer credit
Role	Swiss central register for creditworthiness information from loan transactions of natural and legal persons	the information office for consumer credit prescribed by the legislator
Content	positive and negative reports on loan, leasing and credit card applicants; personal data (name, first name, date of birth, address); loans, rental and leasing agreements, card information, official information such as bankruptcies	exclusively the data to be collected under the KKG from loan and leasing transactions for private purposes
Scope	broader: also includes commitments not subject to the KKG — for example loans above CHF 80,000 or commitments of legal persons	strictly limited to the KKG
Access	ZEK members	only lenders within the meaning of Art. 2 KKG, only for KKG-relevant purposes
Since	—	began operations on 2 January 2003

Source for both columns: ZEK, accessed 30.07.2026.

Important for understanding: according to its own information, ZEK registers reports on loan, leasing and credit card applicants — that is, not only on concluded agreements. A loan application is therefore visible, regardless of the outcome.

How long do entries remain stored?

Every entry is subject to a retention period, which is set out in ZEK’s regulations and follows the principle of proportionality under data protection law. After the period expires, the entry is deleted automatically. The periods vary by type of entry and are published by ZEK as a list.

We deliberately do not state the exact durations here second-hand, but refer to ZEK’s official list. It is the only binding source.

Your rights in this respect: you can request an extract of the data stored about you at any time, and you can request the correction of incorrect entries — at ZEK, with the corresponding evidence.

What improves your creditworthiness — and what harms it?

There is no shortcut and no trick. What works is unspectacular:

Helps

• Paying bills and instalments on time, before reminders are issued.
• Reducing existing commitments: every current instalment reduces the margin for a new one.
• Complete and correct details in the application. False details do not lead to better terms, but to a rejection.
• Knowing your own ZEK extract and having obvious errors corrected.
• Stable circumstances: permanent employment, time outside the probationary period, the same residential address.

Harms

• Payment default, reminders, collection, losses.
• Several loan applications with different providers at the same time — applications are reported and are visible.
• A loan request that exceeds your own affordability. For a KKG loan, a lower amount can help; a longer contractual term does not change the statutory 36-month assumption.
• Open debt enforcement proceedings.

What does a negative entry mean?

An entry is information, not a verdict. Not every entry leads to a rejection, and no entry automatically leads to approval. The overall assessment of affordability and payment history is always decisive.

In substance:

• Single, older entries without payment default weigh less than current payment disruptions.
• Several negative entries significantly reduce the likelihood of approval.
• Reports on collection measures or losses weigh most heavily.
• Negative information can influence the decision and the interest rate offered. The overall assessment is decisive.

A binding commitment is only possible after a complete assessment.

What applies with an ongoing debt enforcement?

An ongoing debt enforcement is relevant negative information, but does not automatically lead to the same outcome in every case by force of law. It feeds into the overall assessment. A loan may not be granted if it leads to over-indebtedness.

What actually helps in this situation:

• Independent debt counselling. The non-profit specialist offices provide specialised advice on indebtedness and over-indebtedness; the directory by canton of residence is maintained by Schuldenberatung Schweiz. These offices are not connected to eny.
• Obtaining your own debt enforcement register extract from the debt enforcement office to know the current status. Third parties’ right of inspection expires five years after conclusion of the proceedings (Art. 8a SchKG).
• Speaking directly with creditors about payment arrangements.

You should critically scrutinise offers that promise a loan commitment regardless of debt enforcement proceedings or without assessment.

How do you view your own data?

You do not have to wait for a lender to tell you what is stored about you.

Where	What you receive	How
ZEK	extract of the entries stored about you	request for information to ZEK, zek.ch
IKO	extract of loan and leasing transactions reported under the KKG	request for information to IKO, iko-info.ch
Debt enforcement office	debt enforcement extract for your person	request to the debt enforcement office of your place of residence

Incorrect entries can be corrected with supporting documents. This is the only legitimate way to change an entry before the period expires.

What comes next?

If you want to know which documents an application needs and how it proceeds: Taking out a loan in Switzerland – requirements and process. If you are still undecided whether a loan is the right route at all: When a personal loan makes sense – and when it doesn’t. For the calculation with your own figures: Loan calculator.

The detailed terms and requirements are on the product page Consumer loan from eny Credit.