A report prepared by a credit reporting agency which sets out the credit history of a person. A satisfactory Credit Reference is often required by a lender before approving a loan.

Before approval of a loan, most lenders will require a credit report on the borrower. Credit reports are prepared by authorised credit reporting agencies. The report sets out the credit history of the borrower.

As well as using your credit score, a lender will also get a report from one or more of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, such as Experian or Equifax, to help assess your credit worthiness. This credit reference will contain details of your recent credit applications, as well as showing whether you have missed any payments and other potential credit problems.