Question & AnswerQ&A (CIC Circular No. 2015-01)
Republic Act No. 9510, known as the Credit Information System Act, was approved on October 31, 2008. Its main objective is to establish the Credit Information Corporation (CIC) to receive and consolidate basic credit data from various credit providers, serving as a central registry and repository of credit information to provide reliable data on borrowers' credit history and financial condition.
Entities required to submit credit information include banks (universal, commercial, thrift, rural, and quasi-banks), their subsidiaries and affiliates, life insurance companies, mutual benefit associations, credit card companies, financing companies, trust entities, investment houses with quasi-banking licenses, NGOs engaged in microfinance, government lending institutions (GFIs and GOCCs), cooperatives involved in lending, and other entities providing credit facilities.
A Submitting Entity is responsible for submitting the Basic Credit Data and other credit information of its borrowers to the CIC regularly, maintaining accuracy and completeness of the data, notifying borrowers of this submission, handling error reports and disputes, and cooperating fully with CIC regarding credit information disputes.
Basic Credit Data refers to the basic credit information, including both positive and negative credit information, provided by a borrower to a submitting entity related to the application or availment of a credit facility, including information on the borrower's creditworthiness in the possession of the submitting entity, excluding confidential bank deposit information unless waived by the borrower.
Positive Credit Information includes data indicating good credit performance, such as timely payments and non-delinquency. Negative Credit Information refers to poor credit performance data, like adverse court judgments, bankruptcy reports, insolvency, and suspension of payments or rehabilitation orders.
Submitting Entities must inform borrowers in writing about the obligation to submit their Basic Credit Data to the CIC. They must also provide a notification letter or clause in loan applications requiring borrower acknowledgment and authorization for submitting and sharing their credit data with authorized lenders and credit reporting agencies.
The Deposit and/or Fund Waiver is a written waiver executed by a borrower that allows the submission of confidential information on bank deposits and client funds to the CIC. Without this waiver, such information remains confidential and is excluded from Basic Credit Data as per existing laws governing bank secrecy.
Submitting Entities must regularly submit Basic Credit Data updates of all borrowers contained in their database to the CIC no later than the 5th day of each month, ensuring the data is accurate and current up to the relevant Update Cycle Date.
Upon receiving an Error Report identifying errors in submitted files, the Submitting Entity is required to rectify these errors and send the corrected files back to the CIC within three (3) working days.
Submitting Entities must develop an internal dispute resolution process that allows Data Subjects to dispute information in their Consolidated Credit Data. This process must investigate and resolve disputes within five (5) working days.
Violations of any provisions of the Act, Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), or rules promulgated by the CIC or Securities and Exchange Commission may subject the Submitting Entity to penalties and fines as stipulated under the Credit Information System Act and related regulatory frameworks.
Accessing Entities, which may include Submitting Entities authorized by the CIC and other authorized entities, are allowed to access Consolidated Credit Data from the CIC under stipulated terms and conditions to evaluate the creditworthiness of borrowers.
All issuances, orders, rules, and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Circular are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly to ensure conformity with the Credit Information System Act and its enforcement guidelines.
The Circular became effective fifteen (15) calendar days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines, and upon filing of three certified copies with the University of the Philippines Law Center, following its signing on May 15, 2015.