MAKATI CITY, 28 February 2020 – Credit Information Corporation (CIC)—the country’s only public credit registry—pledged its commitment to deliver improved results for the Philippines in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2021 survey, specifically in the Depth of Credit Information Index under the Getting Credit indicator.
CIC President and CEO Jaime Casto Jose Garchitorena stated this during the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Forum organized by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) and Center for Strategic Reforms for the Philippines (CSR Philippines), in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business on 24 February 2020.
Garchitorena also stated how the CIC database covers nine million data subjects—14% of the country’s adult population—with 50 million contract data submitted by 474 financial institutions including credit card issuers, universal and commercial banks, thrift banks, rural banks, cooperatives and cooperative banks, savings and loan associations, lending institutions, financing/leasing corporations, microfinance institutions (MFIs), government-owned and controlled corporations with lending facilities, and even insurance companies.
In addition, the credit registry database contains 37 million installment contracts which the CIC PCEO believes to be significant to lenders and borrowers: “The average Filipino doesn’t have a credit card but has installment contract—whether it’s monthly, weekly, or sometimes, daily—with MFIs or other covered financial institutions.”
For the 2021 survey, Garchitorena stated that the CIC will be able to deliver on six out of the eight metrics set by the World Bank under the Depth of Credit Information Index.
“Of the six metrics, the two most significant for borrowers are the inclusion of positive and negative credit data on both firms and individuals, and for the unbanked or underbanked, the ability to record transactions below 1% of income per capita,” he added.
He further stated that the mandatory submissions of positive and negative credit data are significant “to enable a fair and balanced view of an individual’s credit footprint” and that “collecting low value transactions will give even the smallest borrowers credit visibility.”
“This means that when it comes to credit reports, the chances of the CIC covering the average Filipino—not just those who have credit cards, but even those that are unbanked—are there,” he claimed.
The CIC PCEO likewise shared during the forum the various milestones of the CIC in 2019 which will contribute to the improvement of the country’s competitiveness ranking. These include the CIC Credit Reports being made available to the public and the establishment of the Online Dispute Resolution Process (ODRP) wherein borrowers may file disputes or corrections on any erroneous, incomplete, or outdated information reflected on their credit report online.
Garchitorena also acknowledged the CIC’s accredited credit bureaus and special accessing entities: CIBI Information, Inc., CRIF Philippines, Compuscan (now an Experian company), and TransUnion Information Solutions Philippines.
While the CIC acts as the public credit registry and aggregator of data, these are private corporations engaged in the business of providing credit reports, ratings, and other credit information products and services.
The EODB Forum, aimed at promoting the ongoing regulatory reform initiatives of various government agencies, was graced by ARTA Director General Jeremiah Belgica and DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.