Why the credit report is important?

A credit report is a collection of information from various Credit Institutions that records your credit payment history. A good credit history will make getting credit approval easier because most Credit Institutions will check your credit report to evaluate your credit score before making a decision. 

Does the credit report make my loan application rejected?

Many borrowers believe that sharing credit information will reduce their chances of getting loans. This is a very unfortunate misunderstanding. Normally, Credit Institutions check on many factors to make lending decisions, including debt repayment history, solvency, collateral of borrowers, and credit policies of such credit institutions.

With the credit report, the Credit Institution will have a comprehensive view of the financial situation, solvency, and understand the causes of late payment of the borrower (if any). This is the basis for Credit Institutions to evaluate the repayment ability of each borrower to make loan decisions as well as appropriate interest rates. The more complete and detailed information in the credit report, the easier it is for the Credit Institution to assess the risk of a loan and can still decide to lend even if the client has had a late payment loan. Little information and lack of transparency will increase the level of risks, causing Credit Institutions to hesitate in lending.

Therefore, for borrowers, in addition to borrowing with a plan and fulfill repayment obligations on time, providing sufficient information to the Credit Bureau is the best way to increase your chances of getting a loan with more preferences. 

Do I have the right not to share information?

Borrowers have the absolute right not to accept information sharing. However, this can have the following undesirable consequences for borrowers:

- Credit Institutions lose a valuable source of information to underwriting “Loan Application Form”, so verifying information will take more time and more risks. A high rate of risk can increase lending rates; 

Credit institutions may doubt the quality of loans that borrowers are having when you do not agree to share the information; 

If a Credit Institution rejects a borrower's loan application, will other Credit Institutions do the same?

Different Credit Institutions may have different credit policies and assessment criteria for borrowers. Therefore, if a borrower has been declined in one institution, they can still be accepted from another institution. If an institution refuses, borrowers should check their credit report before making another loan application. 

Can I use my Credit report at PCB to submit as a document in the bank loan application?

The Credit report shows borrower's information provided by PCB is used as a reference document to supplement the information to the borrower. Borrowers are solely responsible for their own decisions when using the credit information services. 

Can I modify the Credit Report that was taken from the PCB to give to a third party?

Borrowers are not allowed to modify or copy the Credit report to provide them to a third party, except for the cases specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, Article 14 of Decree 10, specifically except the following cases:

- Borrowers to check the information of themselves at the data warehouse of PCB or to make additional documents for applying for credit;

- Other Credit Bureaus to serve organizations and individuals in accordance with the law;

- Competent State agency in accordance with the law. 

Why do Refreshed borrowers need a Credit Report?

Credit report helps Credit Institutions and borrowers to update the credit status of borrowers and support borrowers in getting loans. When a borrower applies for a loan, Credit Institutions such as banks and finance companies will only provide credit to the borrower when they know how well the borrower is able to repay the loan. For examples:

- Car loan

- Home loan

- Student loan

- Credit card

- Business loan 

PCB’s credit report is only for Vietnamese people?

PCB’s credit report is for any individual, not only for Vietnamese but also for foreigners, as long as they have a credit relationship in Vietnam, and the Credit Institution they have a relationship with is a member of the PCB. 

How long does bad debt history show on the PCB Credit Report?

PCB's Credit report shows up to 36 historical months from the closest updated month. This means that if the borrower has paid off the overdue debt with the Credit Institution, this bad debt history will continue to appear in the next 36 months from the date of payment. However, the current status is still regularly updated and reported. In addition to the payment history and expenditure history of each loan contract, the PCB's Credit report also provides the information about the largest overdue debt of the entire history of the contract. 

Does the borrower know which Credit Institutions have queried their Credit report?

Yes, when the borrower requests to get his / her own credit report, that information will be shown on the report. 

How do borrowers know who has reviewed their information?

When an institution checks or queries Borrower’s information on PCB's database, this will be recorded in the system. These records show which institutions seek information about the Borrower, with what purpose and when did it happen. 

How to improve your credit status?

You can improve your credit status by doing the following simple things:

- Pay your debts/ overdue debts as soon as possible;

- Keep your credits in manageable state;

- Eliminate bankruptcy / litigation;

- Check the Credit report regularly (at least once a year) to ensure that there are not any errors on the report. This is especially important when borrowers plan to apply for new credit. 

Can I check other people's Credit reports?

No, you can not. PCB only provide Credit reports to the borrowers themselves to get their own reports or the Company owners to get reports of the Company. 

What is the process of getting a Credit report?

To get your personal Credit report, please come to our office with your ID Card:

PCB’s Headquarter: Suite 1303B - Vietcombank Building - 198 Tran Quang Khai - Hoan Kiem - Hanoi,

Or,

Representative office at address: 4th floor, Vietcombank Building, 13-13 bis Ky Dong, Ward 9, District 3, HCM City.

PCB works from 08:00 - 17:00 on weekdays from Monday to Friday.

Picking up your report for the first time in the year will be free. Issuing your Credit report for the next times will be 40,000 VND (VAT included).

In order to ensure the confidentiality of borrower's credit information, PCBs only issue reports after verifying the borrower information to get their own report or to the person authorized by the borrower. We do not send the Credit report through other channels such as: email, courier, scan ...

In case that you are far away and cannot get your personal credit report directly, you can authorize another person to come to PCB to get the Credit report for you. After writing an authorization letter, you can authorize the documents at the following agencies:

- Certifications at People's Committees of communes, wards, or higher;

- Notarize the contents at the notary office;

- Legalization of foreign consulates.

The Borrower authorization form can be found at the notary office. The content of the authorization letter must show the authorization for the authorized person to get the credit report at the PCB. The authorization period shall be as agreed by the parties or prescribed by law; If there is no agreement and no provisions by law, the authorization contract will take effect for 1 year from the date of establishment of the authorization. After having the authorization letter, the authorized person will bring the authorization letter and the ID card with a notarized copy of you, the ID card of the authorized person to the PCB Company to get the report.

It will take about 15 minutes to issue a Credit report with the following sequence:

- Customers fill in personal or legal information on the request form for credit report.

- PCB authenticates the information of the person who comes to get the credit report with identification papers and request form.

- PCB provides credit report to the customer. 

If the Borrower's information on PCB's credit report is incorrect, what should the borrower do?

The Borrower has the right to request to review and adjust the content of their own credit information if detecting errors. In that case, the borrower can go to the related Credit Institution or the PCB to submit a request for information checking and correction. PCB and the related Credit Institutions will be responsible for resolving complaints of Borrowers. In this process, the Borrower is obliged to provide fully and honestly the credit information to the related Credit Institutions or PCB and not taking advantage of the false claims that damage Credit Institutions and PCB.

end faq

Which organizations are the members that contribute credit information to the PCB? How is the data transferred to the PCB?

Credit information are contributed by Credit Institution such as comercial banks, finance companies., etc. They are members of PCB and this information is transferred from their Headquarter to PCB. 

Under what circumstances would the Credit report of the Borrower be conducted?

Usually, the credit report is conducted in the following circumstances:

-Before granting a new credit product: credit card, overdraft loan, home loan, car purchase., etc;

-Before raising credit limit;

-After receiving information that can predict the repayment ability of the borrower;

-When borrowers are late for their payment., etc. 

How is the PCB credit report used?

Credit reports are used by Credit Institutions to determine credit history of Borrowers with other organizations that are members of the PCB. This report can also be used when credit Institutions want to check the credit status of borrowers.

Credit Institutions usually care about the following information:

-Debt repayment status;

-Are there any bad debts or bankrupts happening;

-Number of loan contracts;

-Overdue debt amount, etc. 

Does PCB give any opinion or advice to Credit Institutions about granting credit to borrowers?

PCB does not give any opinion or advice to Credit Institutions; PCBs only collect and share the information. When evaluating the borrowers, the Credit Institutions themselves conduct independent research and will make their own assessment based on the information provided from the report. Moreover, when Credit Institutions accessing borrower’s Credit report, they also establish their own criteria to identify risky borrowers. 

Who can register to use the online services at PCB?

Credit officers, Customer relations officers at credit institutions have signed contracts of supplying Information and Credit Information Services with PCB. 

How do I register to use the service?

To ensure safety and security, PCB only provides online service accounts according to Branches or Headquarter of each Credit Institution. For this reason, please contact a specialized department within your Branch / Headquarter. 

Where can I use the PCB's online service?

Credit Institutions' officers granted access names and passwords can browse at: https://online.pcb.vn to login and use PCB's online services. 

What should I do in the first login?

During the first login, the system will ask and request you to change your password. 

What is the password rule?

Length: Minimum 8 characters and maximum 127 characters.

Password should contain 3 out of 4 elements: lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, special characters. Notice: The new password should not coincide with the previous password settings (the system does not allow users to reuse the password more than 5 times). 

What should I do if I forgot my login account or password?

When you forget or lose your login account: you need to contact the PCB through a contact point in your Branch / Headquarter. When you forget or lose your password: you need to contact PCB Customer Service for help in getting your system login password. 

Why does the system say "Your account is temporarily locked" when I log in?

If you log in and enter the wrong username / password for 3 consecutive times, the system will automatically lock your account. To get your password back, you need to contact PCB Customer Service for help in getting your password back to be able to get into the system.

What should I do when I am using the service and the program automatically returns to the login page and display the message "Session Timeout"?

The system displays the message "Session Timeout" only when you are still logged in but do not perform any action within 20 minutes.

Can I use the system 24 hours / 7 days a week?

Yes, you can. PCB's online query service works 24/7.

end faq

What is a Private Credit Bureau?

PCB – Private Credit Bureau is a unit that collects information on the solvency of individuals, businesses or organizations from a variety of sources, mainly from Credit Institutions. This information is aggregated, provided to Credit Institutions, and support decisions related to credit granting. 

What is the role of a Credit Bureau?

The goal of the Credit Bureau is to support Credit Institutions with relevant information about borrowers’ repayment status and allow Credit Institutions to make better and more objective decisions quickly. 

What is a Credit report?

The Credit report includes detailed information about your credit history, including identity information, loan information, and payment history.

Relating data to your loan payments is collated on your credit profile and used by Banks or Financial companies as a part of your loan underwriting process. Therefore, you should check your Credit report regularly to be aware of updates on it. 

What information does the Private Credit Bureau provide?

Private Credit Bureau provides a variety of information, but mainly fall into two categories:

- Identification information (demographic information) including name, date of birth, address., etc.

- Financial information about loans, repayment amount, repayment period., etc.

This information is the basis for developing a rating system for value-added services, enabling Banks and Financial companies to automate the credit rating process. 

How does the Private Credit Bureau guarantee the accuracy of information?

Each member is responsible for passing accuracy information to the Private Credit Bureau. After receiving information from Credit Institutions, the Private Credit Bureau will use many professional measures to check the accuracy of this information before putting them into their database. On the other hand, the borrower also has the opportunity to access their own information to request for correction if there is an error. This information is strictly protected, not accessible by an unauthorized person or organization. 

What benefits does a Private Credit Bureau bring to the table?

a) Expanding credit activities

- From the fact that Credit Institutions are fully aware of borrower information, the credit risks are minimized, which make interest rates fall and promotes credit growth.

- Along with capturing a lot of information and processing applications quickly, Credit Institutions can reduce expenses in the underwriting process of a borrower, help lowering lending rates. Therefore, credit growth of the whole economy will be faster and healthier, making an important contribution to the national GDP growth.

- The effectiveness of the Private Credit Bureau in lending to SMEs and individuals has been verified through a number of studies:

o The percentage of SMEs with limited financial awareness decreased from 49% to 27%, lending increased from 28% to 40% in countries with a Credit Bureau presence (McKinsey Working Papers on Risk, 12/2009).

o After a Credit Bureau started operating in Egypt, consumer credit growth increased to 34%, from 78,332 loans in June 2008 to 105,041 loans in November 2011 (IFC - 4th Credit Reporting and Risk Management Training, November 2012).

b) Reducing risks for credit operations of Credit Institutions

- The information is shared transparently among Credit Institutions, analysts and underwriters will have more information and supporting tools to make more accurate decisions. This helps reduce costs, time, and effort in granting credit.

- Credit Institutions can calculate credit risks in their portfolio better, ensuring safety for the banking - financial system and the entire economy.

- Examples of positive effects of the Private Credit Bureau in developing economies:

o Delinquency rate from banks in Shanghai decreased from 6.67% to 4.52% at the end of 2002, a year after the establishment of the Private Credit Bureau (McKinsey Working Papers on Risk, December 2009).

o Studies carried out in Argentina in 2004 showed that: With the emergence of the Private Credit Bureau, the delinquency rate in large banks decreased by 41% and in small banks by 79% (McKinsey Working Papers on Risk, 12/2009).

o Egypt's subprime debt ratio also dropped significantly, from 3.6% in 2009 to 2.66% in 2011 (IFC - 4th Credit Reporting and Risk Management Training, November 2012).

o In Palestine, the proportion of inactive loans decreased to 66% compared to the time before the private center started operation (IFC - 4th Credit Reporting and Risk Management Training, November 2012). 

Why does Vietnamese market need private a Private Credit Bureau?

With a population of nearly 100 million people and almost 400 thousand SMEs operating, currently Vietnam only has about 5% of the popilation and 30% SMEs have transactions with Credit Institutions. This is a very low rate compare to other countries in the region.

The information demand of Credit institution is increasing and the Public Credit Bureau stand alone can not meet all the needs of the market. In fact, there is a large number of SMEs and individuals are being ignored. Therefore, PCB will be a bridge to help individuals and SMEs to easily access to the capital of Credit Institution quickly and effectively.

PCB report reflects a new perspective with lots of detailed information, useful for the underwriting process of Credit Institutions since it is built by the method of information synthesis and advanced data processing, transferred from the world’s leading credit information solution provider.

With the experience from PCB’s strategic partner – CRIF, PCB has developed a roadmap to bring many value-added services to the market, ensuring to meet the needs of credit instituions at each stage during the “life cycle” of a credit account.

Similar to other countries in the world, the Public Credit Bureau is a unit, with the primary target of supporting macro management tasks of the Statebank to control and prevent systemic risk. Meanwhile, PCB was built by Comercial Banks, with the target of providing services to support the operations of Banks and Credit Institutions. Therefore, PCB will focus on building products and services that meet the needs of the market. 

Why does PCB collect Borrower’s Credit information?

In some international markets, borrowers actively seek out to the Private Credit Bureauand ask to be provided based on their information. This is the way for them to proactively approach credit activities while at the sametime controlling their own information.

Similar to other Credit Bureau actively in the world, PCB’s Credit report has been created from the previous borrower’s credit informaton. Therefore, PCB must conduct activities to collect, store and process computer stores in order to create valuable products about marketplaces, in order to support the underwriting process for borrower of Credit Institutions. 

When does PCB have the right to collect Borrower’s Credit information?

According to the law, PCBs can only collect Credit information of Borrowers if PCBs is approved by the Borrowers. Borrower's approval is shown in the loan application or loan agreement at Credit Institutions. 

Why does the “Loan Application Form” usually have a provision that requires Borrowers to allow Credit Institutions to use and provide information to a Third party?

According to the provisions of the law: Credit Institutions are not allowed to provide information related to their borrowers to other organizations and individuals, except with the consent of borrowers. Therefore, the forms used at Credit Institutions are required to have a clause that Borrower agrees to provide information to a third party (PCB). This ensures the interests of Borrowers when accepting and proactively managing their information.

Is the Borrower's Credit information secured at the PCB system?

In order to be granted the Certificate of eligibility to operate by the State Bank of Vietnam, PCB has proven the full implementation of the prescribed conditions, including strict standards for the safety of the Credit information system. Accordingly, information must "be kept safe and secure, prevent possible incidents and disasters, and prevent outside intrusion and illegal access". PCB strictly complies with the information security standards that are being applied in many of the best Credit bureau in the world nowadays to limit all system loopholes when PCB staff are not assigned or someone from outside tries to break into the database system.

Who does PCB provide Credit information services to? Can borrowers purchase Credit information services?

Pursuant to Decree 10/2010 / ND-CP, PCB provides Credit information services to the following subjects:

- Credit Institutions which contribute data to PCB;

- Borrowers who want to check their information at the database of PCB or to make additional documents for applying for credit;

- Other Credit bureau to serve organizations and individuals in accordance with the law;

- Competent State agency in accordance with the law.

Therefore, borrowers can purchase credit information services with the purpose of checking their information at the database of PCB or to make additional documents for applying for credit.

Which agency regulates PCB activities?

On February 25th, 2013, the State Bank of Vietnam issued a certificate of eligibility to operate the Credit bureau after meeting the requirements specified in Decree No. 10/2010/ND-CP and Circular No. 16/2010/TT-NHNN.

PCB operates under the supervision of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Only bad debt information is contributed to PCB?

PCB collects both positive and negative information. All information about the loan such as type, outstanding balance, repayment status, repayment habits… are contributed to the PCB and updated to the database of the PCB.

end faq