Sources & types of credit information (part 2)

Last week’s column on Sources of Credit Information elicited a lot of positive responses from local readers. One of them is from Ms. Charlette Cabaron, General Manager of Cebu A+ Credit Corporation.  During our conversation, I have noticed that she is well versed in her industry and I promised her that I would write a follow-up article on other sources and types of credit information, so here it is.

Credit Bureaus and/or credit reporting agencies. Credit bureaus or credit reporting agencies undoubtedly can provide important information about specific subjects of query.  Credit bureaus are organized primarily for the exchange of vital positive and negative credit information, which include but not limited to court cases, credit cards cancelled and delinquent accounts endorsed for watch list. Credit bureaus have an established system whereby those who are interested to check and endorse any accounts can interchange reference, one to the other, and even without divulging the information under their own name or divulging the source of information.  Credit bureaus and credit reporting agencies provide an impartial medium between debtors and creditors and among creditors themselves. In the Philippines, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao areas, we have CIBI Information, Inc., which is now located at 4th Floor, Clotilde Commercial Center, Casuntingan, Mandaue City. CIBI Information has a product called CIBI InfoNet On-line which provides access to both negative and positive information, business reports and bank loan exposures among others. This database is accessible via the Internet, however it requires user name and password to be able to access. 

Government regulatory agencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considered as one of the chief sources of information about the business registration of corporations and partnerships.  Information about the legal business name, ownership, capitalization, board membership, business addresses, and primary and secondary business operations can be found in the registration documents of the entity with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, if the company is over a year already, their Financial Statements (FS) are already available with the SEC. On the other hand, single proprietorship entities are registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). It is also a good practice to double check the entity with the Business Permit Section, Office of the Mayor. 

Affiliations, Trade references, Known business associates. Checking with the borrowers’ affiliation, trade suppliers and known business partners serve as good references. This is considered to be significant information because personal contacts for individual and trade suppliers for business and/or social relations put them in a good position to appraise the personal integrity, paying habits and overall character of the borrower.

(Mr. Ed F. Limtingco can be reached at 0917-7220521 or at [email protected])