The three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — maintain records on 172 million adults that contain enough data on file to create a credit score using automated systems. Those adults represent 75% of the total adult population in the U.S. There are another 24 million adults about whom the credit bureaus have no information at all. And falling between thosecategories are 33 million adults about whom the bureaus have files that contain insufficient information for automated underwriting. These people are said to have “thin” files. In terms of credit risk, thin files range from unbanked subprime customers to the very wealthy superprime.

No common definition of a thin file is agreed upon by the bureaus, but typically the term means a file with less than five current tradelines or credit events such as auto loans, credit cards, mortgages, student loans, personal loans, installment loans, as well as credit inquiries — requestsby a lender for a consumer’s credit report or credit score, which are included in consumer files even if the person has not yet established a tradeline. Full files by comparison average 13 to 14 tradelines that have been updated in the last six months.

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