credit information report (CIR)

Credit Information Report (CIR)

Introduction to CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau India Limited)

India's first credit information bureau is a repository of information, which contains the credit history of commercial and consumer borrowers. CIBIL provides this information to its members (companies) in the form of credit information reports. It collects commercial and consumer credit-related data from its members and other sources and collates such data to create and distribute credit reports to members so that they can make better and more informed lending decisions.

Your credit information report (CIR) contains details of your credit history and track record in taking and repaying loans from banks and finance companies. A loan applicant with a good credit record will find access to loans easier, faster and on favourable terms.

The Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd (Cibil) consolidates the information on individual borrowers' credit history, sourced from different member credit institutions such as banks, credit card companies and NBFCs, into a single report called the CIR. This is then made available to its members (banks, finance companies) to facilitate their lending decisions.

Credit Information Report (CIR)

It is the report prepared by CIBIL which contains following information about you (the borrower):

Basic borrower information like:

• Name
• Address
• Identification numbers
• Passport ID
• Voters ID
• Date of birth
• Records of all the credit facilities availed by the borrower
• Past payment history
• Amount overdue
• Number of inquiries made on that borrower, by different Members
• Suit-filed status

However the following information is not revealed:

• Income/Revenue details
• Amount(s) deposited with the bank
• Details of borrowers' assets
• Value of asset(s) mortgaged
• Details of investment(s)

Customers should be given a free copy of their credit profile as it would help in promoting financial discipline among loan seekers, an RBI report says.

“The Committee has suggested that providing customers with a free copy of their Credit Information Reports (CIRs) would help create awareness about the need to have credit discipline, enable customers to correct their behaviour and improve their score well before they plan to avail fresh credit of any kind...,” the report said.

The move would also help detect identity theft at an early stage, it added.

Report of the ‘Committee to recommend Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to Credit Information Companies (CICs)’ has been put up on RBI’s website for comments.

The committee, which recently submitted its report to RBI, has made wide ranging recommendations on issues relating to credit information, such as, increasing its coverage, format of reports and best practices to be followed by credit institutions, credit information companies (CICs) and the RBI.

The panel, headed by Aditya Puri, Chairman of HDFC Bank, also recommended use of common data formats and a common data quality index that could assist credit institutions in determining the gaps in data.

Low usage of credit information by member institutions and other specified users needs to be addressed by requiring CICs to populate their databases with requisite credit information so that enquiries by specified users yield desired information.