The problem is of course that these decisions have to be made consistently across the country, and the banks don't want to try on the "gut feel" of some random

The problem is of course that these decisions have to be made consistently across the country, and the banks don't want to try on the "gut feel" of some random bank manager. Of course the system/criteria could be improved, but wanting consistency is not surprising. Anyway, I had a similar issue with car loans when moving to the US. I've since realized that it's pretty trivial to increase your credit score if you pay a small amount of attention to it. Simply sign up for credit karma, get a few no annul fee credit cards, and put a small purchase on them every few months so that they don't get closed due to inactivity. Within 12 months your credit score will be stellar.