Hidden multi-credits

Hidden multi-credits describes a borrower who has taken out several loans with different institutions without declaring them to the one they are applying to. It is not necessarily fraud: forgetfulness, playing things down or embarrassment are often enough to explain it. The effect is the same, an understated debt-to-income ratio and an instalment granted beyond what is sustainable. France has no central register of outstanding loans, the repayment incidents register recording only confirmed defaults. The only reliable way to spot them remains observing the actual direct debits across all of the customer's accounts.