Major banks in Beijing have set a timetable to establish an
individual credit record system next year, it has been
reported.
Beijing Youth Daily quoted a leading official with the
Beijing Banks Association on Friday as saying that member banks
plan to collect credit records on individuals applying for bank
loans to buy cars, starting from Oct. 10.
The association represents 21 Chinese banks and 18
overseas-funded banks operating in Beijing.
By that time, all member banks should provide all information
available on individuals with poor records on car loans for the
system free of charge, and the credit information will be reported
once a month afterwards, said the official.
The banks are expected to have access to a planned credit
information system on individuals with poor credit records before
next June.
The records would involve bank cards, housing loans, and
individual loans, the official noted.
By the end of next year, an on-line credit record system will be
open to all members of the association for real-time updates and
use, said the official.
The official said credit rating information will be used by
local banks on loan decisions, but the banks will mainly rely on
their own risk appraisal system.
The local telecommunications companies, in cooperation with
banks, began to collect information on those who deliberately
delayed payments of telecommunications charges.
The association has carried out detailed discussion with legal
experts on ways for its members to share the credit information
they collect while protecting the privacy rights of their
clients.
China has not yet enacted a law regarding collection and use of
credit information on individuals, according to the paper.
Chen Jing, director of the Sciences and Technology Department of
the , the central bank, said a draft law on individual credit
information system has been worked out and submitted for a relevant
department for approval.
The central bank official noted that the draft is unlikely to be
passed this year by the top Chinese legislative body, and will
hopefully be adopted next year.
Shanghai, the only city on the Chinese mainland authorized to
collect personal credit information, leads other provinces or
municipalities around the country in introducing a personal credit
system.
The personal credit rating system in Shanghai, China's biggest
banking and economic center, is beginning to take shape as one in
four residents have their personal credit files recorded by an
authorized credit information company.
A spokesperson for Shanghai Credit Information Service Co.
authorized to gather the information, said that the company had
collected credit records on 3.25 million residents in Shanghai, and
produced 840,000 credit files over the past three years.
Jiang Lan, a spokesperson for Shanghai Municipal government,
acknowledged that the personal credit information system was having
a positive impact on boosting credit consumption.
Outstanding personal credit loans accounted for 12 percent of
the total in the municipality, much higher than the national
average of only two - three percent.
The united credit information system in Shanghai has also
collected credit information on 590,000 enterprises since March
2002.
(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2003)