EBA Guidelines on loan origination and monitoring and AI use cases

Annex III point 5(b): AI systems intended to evaluate the creditworthiness of natural persons or establish their credit score are high risk, except systems used to detect financial fraud. Providers need risk management, data governance, logging and human oversight. Deployers must carry out a fundamental rights impact assessment before use (Article 27), and affected persons have a right to an explanation of individual decisions from the deployer (Article 86).

Annex III point 5(b) makes AI used to evaluate the creditworthiness of natural persons high risk. Credit analysis of companies is outside that point, but the tier can change when the same system evaluates the creditworthiness of natural persons, such as sole traders, partners who are personally liable or personal guarantors. Design the scope explicitly and document it.

Annex III point 5(b) makes AI systems that evaluate the creditworthiness of natural persons or establish their credit score high risk. Scoring a company is outside that point, but a sole trader is a natural person, and a model that also assesses the personal credit of owners, partners or guarantors evaluates natural persons. The tier therefore depends on who the borrower is and whose creditworthiness the model assesses.

The drafting assistant does not assess creditworthiness, so on its own it is not the Annex III point 5(b) credit scoring system. It helps the lender meet the Article 86 right of affected people to a clear and meaningful explanation of decisions based on such a high risk system. If it is built into the scoring system it shares that system's high risk obligations; as a separate drafting tool its tier depends on its design and on how its output is reviewed. The follow up chat assistant must tell customers they are dealing with an AI system (Article 50).

Monitoring the credit of companies is not listed in Annex III. Where the same system evaluates the creditworthiness of natural persons, such as sole traders or personal guarantors, it falls under Annex III point 5(b) and is high risk; because that evaluation profiles natural persons, the Article 6(3) exemption does not apply.

Annex III point 5(b) excludes AI used to detect financial fraud from the high risk credit scoring category, but a system that in effect decides on creditworthiness is high risk, and remote biometric identification is high risk under point 1(a), which excludes one to one biometric verification. When a public authority uses the model on claims for public benefits, point 5(a) can apply, because it covers AI used to grant, reduce, revoke or reclaim benefits and has no fraud exception. Keep fraud detection separate from the credit or eligibility decision and use biometrics only for one to one verification.

Answering questions and giving indicative estimates from published rules is limited risk with an Article 50(1) disclosure that the customer is talking to an AI system. If the assistant evaluates an individual's creditworthiness to decide or filter access to a loan, it falls under Annex III point 5(b) and is high risk.

Recommending restructuring terms for individuals involves assessing their ability to pay, which can amount to evaluating the creditworthiness of natural persons under Annex III point 5(b). Human approval alone does not remove that: the Article 6(3) exception covers only systems that do not materially influence the decision, such as a narrow procedural or preparatory task, and never applies when the system profiles natural persons. A tool that only assembles the case file can fall under the exception; restructuring for companies is outside point 5(b).

Explaining products and capturing an application is limited risk with an Article 50 disclosure. If the assistant evaluates creditworthiness or filters applicants on its own assessment, it falls under Annex III point 5(b) and becomes high risk, so keep the decision in the governed credit process.