CREDIT INFORMATION CORP. (CIC) now includes credit data of 30.7 million individuals, which could help improve access to financing.

CIC President and Chief Executive Officer Ben Joshua A. Baltazar said this is equivalent to about 45% of the country’s adult population, noting their data include records of more than a hundred million loan contracts.

“Since it consolidates both positive and negative credit data of borrowers from across all lender types, the CIC Credit Report provides a comprehensive view of an individual’s creditworthiness,” Mr. Baltazar said at a virtual forum on Monday.

Based on CIC data, installment transactions were the most dominant in the credit history of Filipinos as they make up 84 million entries. This is followed by 24 million credit card records and 1.5 million non-installment transactions.

Banks and other financial institutions have accessed more than a million credit reports from the CIC from 2010 to 2021, Mr. Baltazar said.

He said they have teamed up with the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Asian Development Bank in developing compatibility and integration with the National ID in taking credit history of Filipinos.

“Moving forward, the reliability and accuracy of our credit data will be greatly enhanced through the seamless integration with the national ID,” he said.

Mr. Baltazar said they also have an ongoing data quality and usability assessment for accessing entities of the CIC to help rebuild creditworthiness and economic recovery.

In January, the CIC said it will allow consumers to access credit reports through financial institutions to streamline the process.

Mr. Baltazar said the pilot batch for the program is expected to launch within the first quarter. — L.W.T. Noble

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