Banken-Gipfel: Schufa-Chefin Birkholz weist Vorwürfe zu Schattendatenbanken zurück

Schufa-Chefin Tanja Birkholz has vehemently denied accusations of using "shadow databases" during a heated dispute at the Bankengipfel. According to Birkholz, all economic and insurance models rely on historical data, and her company is always open about the process. She expressed confusion over the uproar surrounding the issue.

The controversy began with the discovery that Schufa maintains a secondary collection of older data, which they term a "shadow database," containing information on past loans, garnishments, and bankruptcies. The data is requested by individuals who paid off their debts years ago. The European data protection organization NOYB has recently filed a collective lawsuit and an injunction against Schufa, demanding the deletion of historical data.

Birkholz relies on a German data protection law exception that allows Schufa to use the data. Banks are legally obligated to validate score models before use, which relies on historical statistical data. Schufa is prepared to take the case to the Federal Court of Justice. Birkholz stated that processing historical data complies with legal and regulatory requirements, and NOYB still demands data deletion in their injunction lawsuit.

Birkholz believes that historical data and data tests are necessary to develop scientifically reliable scores, verify their quality, and ensure transparency and traceability. She pointed out that most consumers are only interested in their current creditworthiness and the values currently influencing it. Therefore, older data is not disclosed.

Schufa recently launched a transparency offensive with its new score, but the legal dispute overshadows it. The company plans to make it easier for consumers to voluntarily provide data to Schufa to improve their creditworthiness in the future.