CIBIL to offer data on big borrowers from October

The Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd (CIBIL) will be ready to disseminate credit information on corporate borrowers to financial intermediaries by October 2004 even as it has firmed up plans to start a centralised database on non-statutory liquidity ratio debt securities.

The bureau is also seeking to leverage its expertise to extend its services to the insurance (life and non-life) sector and telecom and public utilities.

CIBIL today formally threw open its database of negative and positive credit information pertaining to 55 lakh retail consumers for its 87 member institutions (credit grantors).

According to N Santhanakrishnan, chairman, credit grantors - banks, non-banking finance companies, housing finance companies, and credit card companies - will be able to rein-in delinquencies in their retail portfolio if they call for credit reports from the Bureau on individuals seeking consumer loans.

Credit reports will enable lenders to more accurately evaluate risk, ease adverse selection and deter concurrent borrowings and serial defaults.

"Credit grantors will be able to decide whom not to give credit/ whom to give credit, reduce turnaround time, increase credit volume, improve quality of database and offer lower cost of credit," Satish Mehta, managing director, CIBIL said.

The bureau, in which State Bank of India, HDFC, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India and TransUnion International, hold stakes in the 40:40:10:10 ratio, is a closed user group and members will be able to tap information based on the principle of reciprocity. It has a paid up capital of Rs 25 crore.

Senior CIBIL officials said credit grantors will be able to pull reports on consumer credit from the bureau at Rs 50 per report. If the reports are accessed more frequently the price could be as low as Rs 12.50 per report.

In the case of commercial credit, reports will be available at Rs 500 per report. In the case of frequent users, the price could come down to as low as Rs 400 per report.