Credit Ghost

In automotive slang, a borrower is a credit "ghost" or has a "thin file" if they are either new to the credit market (say, just graduating from college) or they haven't used credit in the past (or, if they have, they haven’t used credit recently – 10 or more years ago). In other words, the credit reports of these consumers contain very little information.

The problem with these consumers is that if they don't have enough of a credit history to generate a credit score, it becomes very difficult for a lender to judge their risk as a borrower. If the lender can't judge their risk, they will usually be turned down for a loan.

There are exceptions to this, of course. For instance, if a college graduate with no credit history can produce a letter of employment stating the salary and start date, many lenders will take this into consideration.