THE CREDIT Information Corp. (CIC) has on-boarded more financial institutions that will gain access to credit data, which could help borrowers get financing.

Banks and financial institutions that will now have access to the credit history of nearly 23 million borrowers with more than 80 million contract data include Asia United Bank Corp. (AUB), Cooperative Bank of Quezon Province, Philippine Star Development Bank, Kviku Lending Co., Rural Bank of Central Pangasinan, and The Insular Life Assurance Co. Ltd., CIC said in a statement on Monday.

“We are glad that these financial institutions are complying with the requirements for accessing entities; they are recognizing the value of the credit registry, and they are seeing an actual solutions partner in CIC,” CIC Senior Vice-President for Business Development and Communications Aileen L. Amor-Bautista was quoted as saying.

Authorized financial institutions can access borrowers’ credit reports either through a direct database report from the CIC or special accessing entities such as the CIBI Information, Inc. and TransUnion Information Solutions, Inc.

“Being an accessing entity of the CIC means that we have ready access to comprehensive credit reports which will then expedite the process of granting loans and other financial services to our wide range of consumers including SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) and even corporations,” AUB First Vice-President and credit card business head Magdalena V. Surdia said in a statement.

To get access to the credit database, a firm must be among submitting entities in production or already submitting live or actual basic credit data of their borrowers to the CIC’s credit information system.

Entities that want access to the credit database can use a web-based application system called Covered Entity Portal. The platform can be used for registration, update, and submission of documents such as memoranda of agreement, accessing entity information sheets, and secretary’s certificates or board resolutions.

Ms. Amor-Bautista said consumers can see a list of institutions that access CIC data on its website to know which entities are using the database to assess borrowers’ creditworthiness.

The central bank is also working on a project meant to bridge the gap in the credit risk database for small businesses to help them secure financing. Data collection for the project started last year and the scoring model and service is expected to be launched this July. — L.W.T. Noble

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