01What the desk tracks
For each benchmark, the desk states the variable being reported (factor rate, advance size, term, holdback), its unit, the period it covers and the sample behind it. If a figure has no stated sample, it is labelled illustrative and should not be read as a measurement.
02Sources of the data
Each report names the public sources its figures come from, and the desk reproduces those numbers exactly as published without running any survey itself. The desk has no sample of its own, so each figure comes from a source that has already been published. Applicants' personal and business records play no part in producing the desk's figures.
03Aggregation
Averages and ranges are shown the way the source presents them, and each report says which kind it is. Industry groups follow the source's own categories. Periods are as the source states them.
04What the desk won't do
The desk builds no models, makes no forecasts and doesn't extrapolate. Published figures are left exactly as they are, with no adjustment of any kind. If a figure can't be traced back to a sample or a named source, it doesn't get published.
05Revisions
If a report changes after it's published, it keeps the date it first went out and gains a revision note saying when and what changed. The citation block always points to the latest version of the report.
06How to cite the desk
You're welcome to quote any report as long as you credit Ashgrove Credit Research and give the report's title, date and URL. Each report ends with a citation block that sets out the reference in a form you can copy.