The credit system plays a foundational role in helping millions of families and small business owners build better lives for themselves, strengthening local communities and the national economy in the process. Yet millions of individuals and small businesses struggle to access the credit system because of weaknesses and gaps in the type of data traditionally relied upon for credit underwriting.

FinRegLab and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco fintech team hosted a symposium titled “The Role of Consumers in the Data Ecosystem” on November 4-5, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. The event involved more than 130 stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including not only industry, advocates, researchers, and regulators who focus on U.S. financial services but also perspectives from other sectors and countries.