Here's a primer on what CIBIL's credit information report contains and how it helps lenders assess your credit worthiness.

Consumer Information

This section provides the lender with your name, date of birth, gender, an identifying number (such as PAN, Voter ID or Passport Number) and contact details (telephone numbers and addresses). Up to four addresses are provided on the CIBIL CIR. These details indicate who the information - on that CIBIL CIR - pertains to.

Summary

This section provides the lender with an overview of the CIBIL CIR. It includes the total number of accounts and enquires (up to the last 24 months) on your CIBIL CIR.

Account (s)

The most important section of your CIBIL CIR, this section contains the details of your credit facilities. The Account section contains the name of the lender/s, the type of credit facilities (home loan, auto loan, credit card, etc), the account number/s, whether single or jointly held, when each account was opened, date of the last payment, loan amount, current balance and most importantly, a month on month record of up to three years of your payments.

Enquiries

This section provides you with details regarding loan applications you have made such as, the name of the lender, date of the application, and the type and size of loan. Simply put, this section indicates how ‘credit hungry' you are.

What factors on your CIBIL CIR are the most critical to your loan approval?

CIBIL CIRs have been widely used by lenders to evaluate loan applications for over five years. Understanding your CIBIL CIR helps you identify the right time in your financial life cycle to apply for a loan and increase your chances of a loan approval. Listed below are the most important attributes looked at by a lender while evaluating your application.

Attribute 1: Payment History

This appears in the Account(s) section of your CIBIL CIR. There are two pieces of information: the Days Past Due (DPD), and the month and year of payment that reside here. The DPD indicates how many days the payment is late that month. Anything other than “000” is considered negative by a lender. Up to 36 months of this payment history (with the most recent month displayed first) are provided in this section.

Attribute 2: Current Balances

Also appearing in the Account(s) section of your CIBIL CIR, the current balances on various loans indicate the depth of your debt. The sum of your current balances helps a lender determine your strength to take on additional EMIs, in relation to your current income. Naturally, lower the current balance, the better the chance of your loan getting approved.

Attribute 3: New Credit Facilities

If a lender observes that you have recently been sanctioned a number of new credit facilities, it would mean that your monthly outflow in terms of EMIs, are likely to have increased. Hence, it may have a negative impact on your loan application.

Attribute 4: A number of new Enquiries

If you have applied for a number of loans in the recent past, the chances of your loan getting approved are likely to suffer. Simply because this credit behaviour indicates that you are “credit hungry” and implies that you are in an urgent need for money. It is likely to make lenders more cautious while evaluating your application.

If you are planning to apply for any sort of credit facility for a purchase (home or car) in the near future, it is imperative to check your CIBIL CIR three-four times each year and ensure that your ‘Reputational Collateral' is reflected accurately. This will provide you with access to credit faster and at better terms. And rest assured that Enquiries are not added to your CIBIL CIR when you purchase one directly from CIBIL.

The author is Senior Vice President – Consumer Relations CIBIL ( >www.cibil.com )

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