What Is a CIBIL™ Credit Report?

A credit report from anyone of the four credit bureaus (CIBIL™ Equifax, Experian, CRIF High Mark) is a comprehensive document that details an individual’s or corporate’s borrowing history and repayment record. It provides potential lenders with a detailed picture of an individual (or company’s) credit-worthiness based on past and current credit behaviour. It allows lenders to have quick access to accurate information when they receive new applications for credit, and allows them to make a faster and transparent lending decision.

CIBIL™ collects and maintains records of the credit-related transactions of individuals as reported by their lenders (whether banks, NBFCs or credit card companies). This information could include details of all loan and credit card repayments including any late or missed payments; details of enquires made by lenders on loan or credit card applications made in the past; all current loans and credit cards; total credit limit; and other such credit-related information.

A credit report is a single unified document that covers your credit history across different lenders over a significant period of time. Your credit report would include the following details:

• Personal information like name, age, gender and address
• Employment details and income
• Number of hard enquiries made by potential lenders on receipt of your loan/credit card application
• Information on past and current loans along with your payment record
• Any defaults on loan
• Any ‘Settled’ loans
• Total credit limit and the amount spent monthly (Credit Utilisation Ratio)
• Any credit card payment defaults
• Credit score – an important component of your credit profile that gives potential lenders a quick idea of your credit worthiness

Importance of Your CIBIL™ Report

A CIBIL™ credit report is a crucial resource for banks and other financial institutions to evaluate an individual or company’s credit worthiness in order to make a lending decision. There are several reasons why the credit report is highly valued:

• Offers a single comprehensive report of the customer’s past and current borrowing and repayment history
• Gives potential lenders a detailed idea of the customer’s spending discipline and ability to fulfil debt obligations
• Gives individuals information on their credit strengths and weaknesses and enables them to take focused steps to improve their credit health
• Ensures greater transparency and streamlining in the loan approval process as customers and lenders have access to the same credit information. Customers know the reasons why their loan has been rejected, and lenders can make quicker decisions on who they can lend to, without spending time and money on background checks.