भारतीय रजव बक
__________RESERVE BANK OF INDIA___________
RBI/2013-14/666
DBOD.No.CID.BC.127/20.16.056/2013-14 June 27, 2014

All Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs)

All India Notified Financial Institutions and
All Credit Information Companies.

Dear Sir / Madam

Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to Credit Information

Companies and other Regulatory Measures

A Committee to Recommend Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to

Credit Information Companies (Chairman: Shri Aditya Puri) was constituted by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Report of the Committee was placed on RBI’s
website on March 22, 2014 inviting comments on the recommendations of the
Committee. A copy of the Report of the Committee is attached for reference.
(http://rbi.org.in/scripts/PublicationReportDetails.aspx?UrlPage=&ID=763)

2. On examination of the recommendations of the Committee and the

comments/suggestions received, it has been decided to implement the following
recommendations with modifications, wherever appropriate:
i. Creating Awareness about Credit Information Report (CIR): With a view to
appreciating the benefits accruing to banks/FIs arising out of better screening of
loan applicants and usage of CIR in credit appraisal, Credit Information
Companies (CIC) should regularly hold workshops for banks/FIs, in association
with Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) or Micro Finance Institutions Network
(MFIN), as the case may be. [Recommendation 8.7]
ii. Credit Information Reports (CIRs) / Credit Bureau Usage in all Lending
Decisions and Account Opening: Banks/FIs should include in their credit

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
बै कंग प रचालन और वकास वभाग, के ि य कायालय, 13वी मंजील, के ि य कायालय भवन, श. भगत िसंग माग, मुंबई - 400 001
Department of Banking Operations and Development, Central Office, 13th Floor, Central Office Building, S. Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai - 400 001
टे िलफोन/Tel.No.:91-22-22601000,टे िलफोन/Tel.No.(D):91-22-22701297,फै स/Fax No. 91-22-22701239, email ID: [email protected]

ह द आसान है , इसका ूयोग बढाइये

 
 appraisal processes/loan policies, suitable provisions for obtaining CIRs from
one or more CICs so that the credit decisions are based on information
available in the system. In this context, as commercial borrowers’ data is not
adequately populated with the CICs, to start with, banks/FIs may institute board
approved policies for credit bureau usage in all lending decisions and account
opening to retail borrowers/consumer borrower segment. [Recommendation
8.9]
iii. Populating Commercial Data Records in Databases of all CICs: Presently, the
databases of CICs are not adequately populated with commercial borrowers’
data. A roadmap in regard to CICs populating their databases in respect to
corporate borrowers is required to be laid out. For this purpose, banks/FIs are
advised to report data in respect of their corporate borrowers to the CICs in a
timely manner with immediate effect and CICs should populate their databases
with commercial data records within six months. Therefore, after a period of six
months, banks/FIs should also start using data available with the CICs in
respect of commercial / corporate borrowers, under a Board approved policy.
[Recommendation 8.8]
iv. Standardisation of Data Format: With a view to streamlining the process of data
submission by banks/FIs to CICs, it has been decided to standardise the
formats for data submission by the banks/FIs to the CICs. The data format as
per Annex I should be taken as the base for standardisation of data format for
consumer and commercial borrowers. In respect of Micro Finance Institution
(MFI) segment, data format as per Annex II should be taken as the base for
standardisation. These formats should be put in use by the banks/FIs for
reporting to CICs with immediate effect. The data format would be a non-
proprietary reporting format and henceforth would be known as “Uniform Credit
Reporting Format”. The segment viz. consumer, commercial, and MFI will be
denoted appropriately in parentheses, for example, “Uniform Credit Reporting
Format (Consumer)”. These should be uniformly adopted by the banks/FIs and
CICs. [Recommendation 8.10 (a)]
v. Technical Working Group: It has been decided to constitute a Technical
Working Group comprising of representatives from Scheduled Commercial
Banks (a member each from a Public Sector Bank, a Private Sector Bank and a
Foreign Bank), Urban Cooperative Banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), All
India Notified Financial Institutions, CICs, NBFCs, HFCs, IBA and MFIN to

2 
   
 institutionalise a continuing mechanism for reviewing and making changes
where necessary to the data formats. This Working Group should review the
data formats periodically, say once a year, and suggest modifications to the
same. It would frame rules on all data fields for various data formats, viz.
consumer, commercial and MFI. The data formats after finalisation by the
Group will be submitted to RBI for approval. In order to implement the
recommendations relating to the Technical Working Group, CIBIL will act as the
convenor of the Group and take the lead to operationalize the recommendation.
To start with, the Working Group may take up, on a priority basis, changes in
the commercial borrower segment, where there is an urgent need to capture
data required for sharing of information among member banks/FIs under
consortium/multiple banking arrangements and to aid in implementation of the
instructions at paragraph 2 (iii) above. The Working Group should also
incorporate the additional fields as detailed in Annex III. [Recommendations
8.10 (b) and 8.11]
vi. Rectification of Rejected Data: CICs should share with banks/FIs the logic and
validation processes involved in data acceptance so that instances of data
rejection can be minimised. The reasons for rejection need to be parameterised
and circulated among the banks/FIs concerned. Rejection reports should be
made simple and understandable so that they can be used for fixing reporting
and data level issues. Banks/FIs should rectify the rejected data and upload
the same with the CICs within seven days of receipt of such rejection report.
[Recommendation 8.15]
vii. Data Quality Index: A common Data Quality Index would assist banks/FIs in
determining the gaps in their data and also move towards improving their
performance over a period of time. In addition, they would also be able to rank
their own performance against that of their peers and identify their relative
position. Annex 6 of the Report contains a draft Data Quality Index as agreed
upon by all the CICs giving different parameters for assessing the data
submitted by the banks/FIs. CICs and banks/FIs may adopt this Data Quality
Index for assessing the quality of data submissions and make efforts towards
improving data quality and minimising data rejections, within a time period of six
months. [Recommendation 8.16]
viii. Credit Score: To facilitate the understanding and interpretation of credit scores
in an easy and consistent manner, it is advised that the CIBIL method of

3 
   
 calibrating credit score from 300 to 900 be adopted by the other CICs also,
within a time period of six months, so that they have a common classification of
Credit Scores. [Recommendation 8.17]
ix. Standardising Format of Credit Information Report (CIR): It is not considered
necessary to standardise the format of the CIR as such differentiation is
essential to promoting competition in the market. However, CICs should
standardise the CIR terminology and also have some mandatory key fields.
This would provide some comparability for the users between CIRs received
from two or more CICs. The detailed aspects of a standardised CIR are
furnished in Annex IV. [Recommendation 8.18(a)]
x. Best Practices for Banks/FIs: Every bank/FI should take into account the best
practices as detailed in Annex V while formulating or reviewing the policy and
procedure under the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005
(CICRA) with the approval of their Board of Directors. [Recommendation 8.25]
xi. Best Practices for Credit Information Companies: CICs should also take into
account best practices as detailed in Annex VI and put in place a system for
consumer complaint redressal with the approval of their Board of Directors.
Such policy may be displayed on their websites. [Recommendation 8.26]

3. The other recommendations of the Committee would be further examined before

taking a decision on their implementation. Banks/FIs and CICs are advised to
implement the instructions contained in this circular, as per the time schedule
indicated.

Yours faithfully,

(Sudarshan Sen)
Chief General Manager

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 Annex I
(Ref: Para 2 (iv)]

Uniform Credit Reporting Format for Consumer and Commercial Borrowers

A. Consumer Bureau
Segments Fields
Reporting Member / Reporting Member / Date Reported Reporting Authentication
Header Processor User ID Processor Short Name Cycle Identification and Certified Password Method Member Data

Name Consumer Name Date of Birth Gender

ID ID Type ID Number Issue Date Expiration Date

Telephone Telephone Number Telephone Extension Telephone Type

Email E-Mail ID
Address
Address Consumer Address State Code PIN Code Category Residence Code
Current/New
Reporting Member Current/New Member Current/New Ownership Date Opened/ Date of Last
Account Code Short Name Account Number Account Type Indicator Disbursed Payment
Date Reported and High Credit/ Number of Days Old Reporting
Date Closed Certified Sanctioned Amount Current Balance Amount Overdue Past Due Member Code
Old Member Short Old Ownership Suit Filed/ Wilful Written-off and Asset
Name Old Account Number Old Account Type Indicator Default Settled Status Classification
Value of Collateral Type of Collateral Credit Limit Cash Limit Rate Of Interest Repayment Tenure EMI Amount
Written-off Amount Written-off Amount Payment Actual Payment
(Total) (Principal) Settlement Amount Frequency Amount Occupation Code Income
Net/Gross Income Monthly/Annual Income
Indicator Indicator

B. Commercial Bureau
Segments Fields
Date of Creation &
Certification of Input Reporting /
Header Member ID Previous Member ID File Cycle Date Information Type Filler
Company
Member Branch Previous Member Borrower Short Registration Date of
Borrower Code Branch Code Borrower s Name Name Number Incorporation
Borrower s Legal Business
PAN CIN TIN Service Tax # Other ID Constitution Category
Business/ Industry Class of Activity
Type Class of Activity 1 Class of Activity 2 3 SIC Code Sales Figure Financial Year
Number of Assessment Agency Credit Rating As Credit Rating
Employees Credit Rating / Authority On Expiry Date Filler
Borrower Office Borrower Office DUNS
Address Location Type Number Address Line 1 Address Line 2 Address Line 3 City/Town District
Mobile Telephone Area Telephone
State/Union Territory Pin Code Country Number(s) Code Number(s) Fax Area Code
Fax Number(s) Filler
Relationship DUNS Business Entity Business Business / Industry Individual Name
Relationship Number Related Type Relationship Name Category Type Prefix

Company Date of
Full Name Gender Registration Number Incorporation Date of Birth PAN Voter ID
Passport Number Driving Licence ID UID Ration Card No CIN DIN TIN
Percentage of
Service Tax # Other ID Control Address Line 1 Address Line 2 Address Line 3 City/Town
Telephone Telephone Area
District State/Union Territory Pin Code Country Mobile Number(s) Number(s) Code
Fax Number(s) Fax Area Code Filler

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Segments Fields
Sanctioned Tenure /
Amount/ Weighted
Facility / Loan Notional Average maturity
Previous Account Activation / Sanction Amount of period of
Credit Facility Account Number Number Date Contract Currency Code Credit Type Contracts
Notional
Amount of Out-
Current Balance / standing
Repayment Limit Utilized /Mark Restructured Loan Expiry / Asset
Frequency Drawing Power to Market Contracts Maturity Date Loan Renewal Date Classification
Overdue Bucket Overdue Bucket
Asset Classification Amount Overdue / Limit Overdue Bucket 01 ( 02 ( 31 – 60 Overdue Bucket Overdue Bucket 04 05 (Above 180
Date Overdue 1 – 30 days) days) 03 ( 61 – 90 days) (91 – 180 days) days)
Account Status
High Credit Installment Amount Last Repaid Amount Account Status Date Written Off Amount Settled Amount
Major reasons for Amount of Contracts Asset based Guarantee Bank Remark Wilful Default Date Classified
Restructuring Classified as NPA Security coverage Coverage Code Status as Wilful Default
Suit Amount in Transaction Type
Suit Filed Status Suit Reference Number Rupees Date of Suit Dispute ID No. Code Filler
Business / Guarantor Entity Individual Name
Guarantor Guarantor DUNS Guarantor Type Business Category Industry Type Name Prefix Full Name
Company Registration
Gender Number Date of Incorporation Date of Birth PAN Voter ID Passport Number
Driving Licence ID UID Ration Card No CIN DIN TIN Service Tax #
State/Union
Other ID Address Line 1 Address Line 2 Address Line 3 City/Town District Territory
Telephone Area Telephone
Pin Code Country Mobile Number(s) Code Number(s) Fax Area Code Fax Number(s)
Filler
Security
Security Value of Security Currency Type Type of Security Classification Date of Valuation Filler

Dishonour of Instrument / Number of times Reason for

Cheques Segment Identifier Date of Dishonour Amount Cheque Number dishonoured Cheque Issue Date Dishonour
Filler
Number of Borrower Number of Credit
File Closure Segments Facility Segments Filler

********

6 
   
 Annex II
[Ref: Para 2 (iv)]

Uniform Credit Reporting Format for Micro Finance Institution (MFI) Segment

Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments

No. Type Required
when present
1 Member Segment A/N 6 Required Must contain the
Identifier value "CNSCRD" to
identify the Member
Segment.
2 Member Member A/N 35 Required Customer ID
Identifier
3 Member Branch A/N 30 Required
Identifier
4 Member Kendra/Centre A/N 30 Required
Identifier
5 Member Group Identifier A/N 20 Required when This is a required
present field if Loan
Category is T01 or
T02
6 Member Member Name A/N 100 Required
1
7 Member Member Name A/N 50 Required when
2 present
8 Member Member Name A/N 50 Required when
3 present
9 Member Alternate Name A/N 30 Required when
of Member present
10 Member Member Birth D 8 Required
Date (DDMM
CCYY)
11 Member Member Age N 3 Required
12 Member Member's age D 8 Required Provide either of the
as on date (DDMM below:
CCYY) 1. Date on which
Member Age (field
11) is calculated by
lender
2. Date on KYC
document from
which Member Age
(field 11) is
calculated by lender
13 Member Member A/N 1 Required Enumerated:
Gender Type F - Female
M - Male

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 Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments
No. Type Required
when present
14 Member Marital Status A/N 3 Required Enumerated:
Type M01 - Married
M02 - Separated
M03- Divorced
M04 - Widowed
M05 - Unmarried
M06 - Untagged
15 Member Key Person's A/N 100 Required
name
16 Member Key Person's A/N 3 Required Enumerated:
relationship K01 - Father
K02 - Husband
K03- Mother
K04 -Son
K05 -Daughter
K06-Wife
K07-Brother
K08-Mother-In-law
K09-Father-In-law
K10-Daugther-In-law
K11-Sister-In-law
K12-Son-In-law
K13-Brother-In-law
K15 -Other
17 Member Member A/N 100 Required
relationship
Name 1
18 Member Member A/N 3 Required Enumerated:
relationship K01 - Father
Type 1 K02 - Husband
K03- Mother
K04 -Son
K05 -Daughter
K06-Wife
K07-Brother
K08-Mother-In-law
K09-Father-In-law
K10-Daugther-In-law
K11-Sister-In-law
K12-Son-In-law
K13-Brother-In-law
K15 -Other
19 Member Member A/N 100 Required
relationship
Name 2

8 
   
 Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments
No. Type Required
when present
20 Member Member A/N 3 Required Enumerated:
relationship K01 - Father
Type 2 K02 - Husband
K03- Mother
K04 -Son
K05 -Daughter
K06-Wife
K07-Brother
K08-Mother-In-law
K09-Father-In-law
K10-Daugther-In-law
K11-Sister-In-law
K12-Son-In-law
K13-Brother-In-law
K15 -Other
21 Member Member A/N 100 Required
relationship
Name 3
22 Member Member A/N 3 Required Enumerated:
relationship K01 - Father
Type 3 K02 - Husband
K03- Mother
K04 -Son
K05 -Daughter
K06-Wife
K07-Brother
K08-Mother-In-law
K09-Father-In-law
K10-Daugther-In-law
K11-Sister-In-law
K12-Son-In-law
K13-Brother-In-law
K15 -Other
23 Member Member A/N 100 Required
relationship
Name 4
24 Member Member A/N 3 Required Enumerated:
relationship K01 - Father
Type 4 K02 - Husband
K03- Mother
K04 -Son
K05 -Daughter
K06-Wife
K07-Brother
K08-Mother-In-law
K09-Father-In-law
K10-Daugther-In-law
K11-Sister-In-law
K12-Son-In-law
K13-Brother-In-law
K15 -Other
25 Member Nominee Name A/N 100 Required

9 
   
 Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments
No. Type Required
when present
26 Member Nominee A/N 3 Required Enumerated:
relationship K01 - Father
K02 - Husband
K03- Mother
K04 -Son
K05 -Daughter
K06-Wife
K07-Brother
K08-Mother-In-law
K09-Father-In-law
K10-Daugther-In-law
K11-Sister-In-law
K12-Son-In-law
K13-Brother-In-law
K15 -Other
27 Member Nominee Age N 3 Required
28 Member Voter's ID A/N 20 Required when
present
29 Member UID A/N 40 Required when
present
30 Member PAN A/N 15 Required when
present
31 Member Ration Card A/N 20 Required when
present
32 Member Member Other A/N 20 Required when Provide type of ID
ID 1 Type present provided if ID is
description other than Voter ID,
UID, PAN or Ration
Card
33 Member Member Other A/N 30 Required when
ID 1 present
34 Member Member Other A/N 20 Required when Provide type of ID
ID 2 Type present provided if ID is
description other than Voter ID,
UID, PAN or Ration
Card
35 Member Member Other A/N 30 Required when
ID 2 present
36 Member Other ID 3 Type A/N 20 Required when Provide type of ID
present provided if ID is
other than Voter ID,
UID, PAN or Ration
Card
37 Member Other ID 3 A/N 30 Required when
Value present
38 Member Telephone A/N 3 Required when Enumeration:
Number 1 type present P01-Residence
Indicator P02-Company
P03- Mobile
P04-Permanent
P07-Other
P08-Un tagged

10 
   
 Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments
No. Type Required
when present
39 Member Member A/N 15 Required when If landline, affix STD
Telephone present Code
Number 1
40 Member Telephone A/N 3 Required when Enumeration:
Number 2 type present P01-Residence
Indicator P02-Company
P03- Mobile
P04-Permanent
P07-Other
P08-Un tagged
41 Member Member A/N 15 Required when If landline, affix STD
Telephone present Code
Number 2
42 Member Poverty Index N 20 Required when
present
43 Member Asset A/N 1 Required when Enumeration:
ownership present Y- Yes
indicator N- No
44 Member Number of N 2 Required when
Dependents present
45 Member Bank Account - A/N 50 Required when Provide bank in
Bank Name present which borrower is
maintaining Savings
Bank A/C
46 Member Bank Account - A/N 50 Required when Provide branch
Branch Name present name in which
borrower is
maintaining Savings
Bank A/C
47 Member Bank Account - A/N 35 Required when Provide Savings
Account present Bank A/C number
Number
48 Member Occupation A/N 50 Required when
present
49 Member Total Monthly N 9 Required
Family Income
50 Member Monthly Family N 9 Required
Expenses
51 Member Member's A/N 3 Required when Enumeration:
Religion present
R01 - Hindu
R02 - Muslim
R03 - Christian
R04 - Sikh
R05 - Buddhist
R06 - Jain
R07 - Bahai
R08 - Others
R09 - Religion not
stated
52 Member Member's A/N 30 Required when
Caste present

11 
   
 Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments
No. Type Required
when present
53 Member Group Leader A/N 1 Required when Enumeration:
indicator present Y- Yes
N- No
U- Untagged
54 Member Centre Leader A/N 1 Required when Enumeration:
indicator present Y- Yes
N- No
U- Untagged
55 Member Dummy A/N 30 Required when Reserved for future
present use
56 Address Segment A/N 6 Required Must contain the
Identifier value "ADRCRD" to
identify the Address
Segment.
57 Address Member's A/N 200 Required House No, Street
Permanent Name, Locality
Address Name, City / Village
58 Address State Code N 2 Required Must be a code as
(Permanent defined in Appendix
Address) A
59 Address Pin Code N 10 Required Provide complete 6
(Permanent digit PIN Code
Address)
60 Address Member's A/N 200 Required House No, Street
Current Name, Locality
Address Name, City / Village
61 Address State Code N 2 Required Must be a code as
(Current defined in Appendix
Address) A
62 Address Pin Code N 10 Required Provide complete 6
(Current digit PIN Code
Address)
63 Address Dummy A/N 30 Required when Reserved for future
present use
64 Account Segment A/N 6 Required Must contain the
Identifier value "ACTCRD" to
identify the Account
Segment.
65 Account Unique Account A/N 35 Required This field will not
Reference change even if the
number Account number in
MFI system
changes.

This field must be

consistent on each
submission basis to
avoid duplication of
information.
66 Account Account A/N 35 Required
Number

12 
   
 Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments
No. Type Required
when present
67 Account Branch A/N 30 Required
Identifier
68 Account Kendra/Centre A/N 30 Required
Identifier
69 Account Loan Officer for A/N 30 Required
Originating the
loan
70 Account Date of Account D 8 Required
Information (DDMM
CCYY)
71 Account Loan Category A/N 3 Required Enumeration:
T01- JLG Group
T02- JLG Individual
T03 - Individual
72 Account Group Identifier A/N 20 Required when This is a required
present field if Loan
Category is T01 or
T02
73 Account Loan Cycle-id A/N 30 Required when Indicate whether the
present borrower is taking
the first, second or
third loan within the
same lender
74 Account Loan Purpose A/N 20 Required
75 Account Account Status A/N 3 Required Enumeration:
S01 - Loan
Submitted
S02 - Loan
Approved - Not yet
disbursed
S03 - Loan Declined
S04 - Current
S05 - Delinquent
S06 - Written Off
S07 - Account
Closed
S15 - Cancelled
76 Account Application date D 8 Required when
(DDMM present
CCYY)
77 Account Sanctioned D 8 Required when
Date (DDMM present
CCYY)
78 Account Date D 8 Required
Opened/Disbur (DDMM
sed CCYY)
79 Account Date Closed (if D 8 Required when This is required if
closed) (DDMM present account status is
CCYY) S07
80 Account Date of last D 8 Required when
payment (DDMM present
CCYY)

13 
   
 Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments
No. Type Required
when present
81 Account Applied For N 9 Required when
amount present
82 Account Loan amount N 9 Required
Sanctioned
83 Account Total Amount N 9 Required
Disbursed
(Rupees)
84 Account Number of N 3 Required when Original Loan tenure
Instalments present
85 Account Repayment A/N 3 Required when Enumeration:
Frequency present F01- Weekly
F02 - Biweekly
F03 - Monthly
F04- Bimonthly
F05- Quarterly
F06- Semi annually
F07-Annually
F08-Single Payment
Loan (bullet /
balloon)
F10-Other
86 Account Minimum Amt N 9 Required Provide amount
Due/Instalment payable in a single
Amount instalment
87 Account Current N 9 Required Provide principal
Balance outstanding
(Rupees)
88 Account Amount N 9 Required
Overdue
(Rupees)
89 Account DPD (Days past A/N 3 Required when Enumeration:
due) present 000 = 0 payments
past due (current
account) with
Positive Balance
001 to 999 =
Number days past
due. If an account is
above 999 days,
mark as 999
XXX = No payment
history available for
this month
90 Account Write Off N 9 Required when
Amount present
(Rupees)
91 Account Date Write-Off D 8 Required when
(if written-off) (DDMM present
CCYY)

14 
   
 Field Segment Field Name Character Length Required/ Comments
No. Type Required
when present
92 Account Write-off reason A/N 20 Required when Enumeration:
(if written off) present X01- First Payment
Default
X02-Death
X03-Willful Default
Status
X04-Suit Filed,
Wilful Default Status
X09-Untagged
X10 - Not Applicable
93 Account No. of meetings N 3 Required when
held present
94 Account No. of meetings N 3 Required when
missed present
95 Account Insurance A/N 1 Required when Enumeration:
Indicator present Y- Yes
N- No
96 Account Type of A/N 3 Required when Enumeration:
Insurance present L01 - Life Insurance
L02 - Credit
Insurance
L03 - Health/Medical
Insurance
L04 - Property
Insurance
L05 - Liability
Insurance
L10 - Other
97 Account Sum N 10 Required when
Assured/Covera present
ge
98 Account Agreed meeting A/N 3 Required when Enumeration:
day of the week present MON - Monday
TUE - Tuesday
WED - Wednesday
THU - Thursday
FRI - Friday
SAT - Saturday
SUN - Sunday
99 Account Agreed Meeting A/N 5 Required when Should be in HH:MM
time of the day present format
100 Account Dummy A/N 30 Required when Reserved for future
present use

*********

15 
   
 Annex III
[Refer Para 2 (v)]

Changes in Data Format

[Recommendations 8.10, 8.11, 8.12 (b), 8.13 (c), and 8.15]

The Technical Working Group [please see paragraph 2 (v) of the circular] of banks, All
India Notified Financial Institutions, CICs, NBFCs and HFCs, in association with
IBA/MFIN, should review the data format periodically, say once a year and suggest
modifications to the same. To start with, the Working Group may take up on priority
basis changes required in the commercial segment and also in the following areas:

i. Additional Fields in Data Format: Annex 5 of the Report contains certain

additional fields for inclusion in data format (field names and their benefits).
Accordingly, except for priority sector indicator field, other fields may be
incorporated in the consumer data format. For vehicles, only vehicle make and
registration number would be compulsory and not the chassis number. The
registration number of property registered with Central Registry of
Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI)
needs to be added by the CICs. [Recommendation 8.10 (b)]
ii. Compromise Settlements: Data formats should include cases where
compromise settlements have taken place and the reason for such compromise
settlements. [Recommendation 8.10 (c)]
iii. Detailed Product Classification: Banks/FIs should report detailed product
classification to the CICs, e.g., car loans, commercial vehicles and construction
equipment vehicles, under auto loans. CICs should also include the same in
their reports to the banks/FIs. [Recommendation 8.10 (d)]
iv. Information Regarding Relationship/Guarantor: Banks/FIs should capture
certain information pertaining to relationship/guarantor fields of the Corporates
viz. the Business category/type, Mobile/Telephone number, State/PIN-
code/Country in their Core Banking Solutions/System and report the same to
the commercial bureau of the CICs. [Recommendation 8.10 (e)]
v. Members of Self Help Groups (SHG): Credit information on individual members
of SHGs is critical to establish their credit history which would in turn foster
growth of credit to the sector and promote financial inclusion. Therefore,

16 
   
 banks/FIs may obtain data on individual members of SHGs and start reporting
the same to CICs within six months. [Recommendation 8.10 (f)]
vi. Cross Reporting: Guidelines for cross reporting, e.g., where individual is
borrower and corporate is co-borrower, or vice versa, should be clearly
intimated by CICs. The formats have fields to incorporate the data where
consumer data will be reported in the consumer bureau and co-borrower will be
reported in commercial bureau. [Recommendation 8.10 (h)]
vii. Reporting Days Past Due: Banks/FIs are mandated to report Days Past Due
(DPD), for the credit facilities extended by them to consumers and corporates,
while reporting to the CICs. [Recommendation 8.10 (i)]
viii. Treatment of Part Instalment Due: Banks/FIs are required to submit data as it is
while qualitative information on what filters to apply based on amount and
period could be done by the specified users and others who make use of the
data. [Recommendation 8.10 (j)]
ix. Income Data: Income data of the borrowers under the consumer bureau may
continue to be reported by the banks/FIs to the CICs. [Recommendation 8.10
(k)]
x. Identification Numbers: In the commercial segment, corporate identification
number (CIN) and credit history of the directors of the company (based on DIN
number) should be reported by the banks/FIs to the CICs and included by the
CICs in their reports. [Recommendation 8.10 (l)]
xi. Software for Reporting: RBI is generally in agreement that there should be only
one format for uploading and reverting reject data from the CIC as
conversions/reconversions between formats like Excel/TUDF/Notepad, etc.,
during the process of furnishing data create validation issues. However, the
Technical Working Group [please see paragraph 2 (v) of the circular] of banks,
CICs, NBFCs, etc. may further deliberate on this issue and make suitable
suggestions, if considered necessary to RBI in this regard. [Recommendation
8.10 (m)]
xii. Written-off and Settled Status of Accounts: While reporting their credit data,
banks/FIs should use 'settled' status for denoting only specific situations where
due to financial inability to repay as per original terms and conditions, either a
principal or an interest waiver or both is provided to the customer. Banks/FIs
need to be aware of such a situation prior to extending fresh credit to such a
customer. Cases of wrong debits or contested charges should not be reported

17 
   
 by banks/FIs as 'settled' but as 'disputed' as per the new field suggested for
inclusion in the data format at Annex 5 of the Report. [Recommendation 8.12
(b)]
xiii. Major Reasons for Restructuring: This field in the commercial data format helps
in understanding whether the restructuring of loan of the borrower was due to
external/extraneous factors such as external environment, general downturn in
economy, etc., or company / borrower specific issues such as change in
management, performance of promoters, etc. [Recommendation 8.13 (c)]
xiv. Minimum of One Identifier Field in Data: Data submitted by banks/FIs should be
populated with at least one of the identifier fields, viz., PAN Card No., Passport
No., Driving Licence No., Voter ID Card No., Aadhaar No., Telephone number,
etc. [Recommendation 8.15]

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18 
   
 Annex IV
[Refer Para 2 (ix)]

Aspects of a Standardised Credit Information Report (CIR)

[Recommendation 8.18]

It is not considered necessary to standardise the format of the CIR as such

differentiation is essential to promoting competition in the market. However, CICs
should standardise the CIR terminology and also have some mandatory key fields.
This would provide some comparability for the users between CIRs received from two
or more CICs. However, the following aspects may be looked into by the CICs while
preparing the CIR:
i. Reporting Co-borrower and Guarantor: CIC should report co-borrower and
guarantor details in the CIRs. This will facilitate deciding on the extent of
exposure a bank/FI can consider on an entity. CIR should also give details for
the loans availed by the customers in their capacity as borrower/co-
borrower/guarantor.
ii. Reporting Loans Declined: Information relating to loans declined in previous
periods to customers/individuals need not be reported by CICs as such
information could be prejudicial to the interests of the customer if a rejection in
one bank/FI were to be used as a ground to reject the same customer in
another bank/FI.
iii. Unique Identity: CICs may provide a single CIR for one borrower even if the
firm/person has more than one address by utilising a unique identification
number such as PAN/Aadhaar No. provided by the bank/FI.
iv. Information on Mortgage of Properties: Information on mortgages of properties
is presently not being shared in the consumer bureau format. Banks/FIs may
share this data with the CICs which would help them enrich their database.
v. Multiple Borrowings: In the case of multiple borrowings of the same customer,
involving both current and past accounts, information on various accounts may
be provided in the order of live accounts, closed accounts and overall position
of NPA /wilful default/suit filed status, with limits and liability for each account.
vi. Linking Consumer and Commercial Reports: It is advised that commercial
reports may capture the names of directors/ guarantors/ partners/ proprietor.
CICs, while furnishing credit information report on borrowers who have some
credit history stored in consumer, commercial and MFI databases, should

19 
   
 include borrowers' history from all these databases giving comprehensive and
complete credit history of the borrowers so that a financial institution could
easily gauge the overall indebtedness of the borrowers to the lenders
(banks/FIs/NBFC-MFIs/NBFCs, etc.).
vii. Viewing Account Updates: CICs should provide a special ‘view’ / 'read-only'
access to members to view account level updates in their database through a
front-end interface. This would help banks/FIs to confirm or upload account
updates / correction request and also in speedy resolving of discrepancies in
the CIRs. Necessary steps may be taken to put in place a full-fledged online
data correction mechanism as is available in some countries. CICs may make
efforts to operationalise such a structure in India at the earliest and in any case
within a period of one year, in the interest of customer service.
viii. Disclosing Disputed Information in CIRs: CIRs should also provide appropriate
disclosures if any information contained therein has been disputed and the
matter has not been satisfactorily resolved. If the customer so desires, his/her
comment could also be added to the CIR. Certain fields pertaining to consumer
dispute viz. dispute code, dispute description, dispute date and consumer
comments on disputes (listed in Annex 5 of the Report) may be included in the
CIR.
ix. Rectifying Wrong Information in CIRs: Banks/FIs as well as CICs should have
arrangements in place to receive customer requests for rectification of data in
CIRs. As a good practice to maintain high data quality, all erroneous data
should be corrected at the source by the bank/FI that originally submitted the
data. The CIC should not change borrower data unless the bank/FI submitting
the data has rectified it at the source to obviate the risk of updated data being
overwritten by erroneous data in the next submission cycle by the banks/FIs.
x. Corrected CIRs: In the case of any correction being carried out in the CIR, the
CIC may provide a free copy of the corrected report to whom the report had
been issued during the previous six months. However, the cost of the CIR may
be borne by the members of CICs, if they are responsible for the inaccurate
data.

*******

20 
   
 Annex V
[Ref: Para 2 (x)]

Best Practices for Banks/FIs

[Recommendations 8.25, 8.31 and 8.34]

Every bank/FI should take the following best practices into account while formulating
or reviewing the policy and procedure under the CICRA with the approval of their
Board of Directors:
i. Banks/FIs should ensure that the records submitted to CICs are updated
regularly and that no instances of repayment, including that of the last
instalment, are left unreported.
ii. Instances of non-updation of repayment information could be avoided by
centralising the issue of NOCs and providing information to CICs.
iii. All banks/FIs should have nodal officers for dealing with CICs.
iv. Customer grievance redressal should be given top priority especially in respect
of complaints relating to updation/alteration of credit information.
v. Grievance redressal in respect of credit information should be integrated with the
existing systems for grievance redressal. Aspects relating to customer
grievances pertaining to credit information may also be an integral part of
customer service policy of banks/FIs.
vi. Banks/FIs should abide by the period stipulated under CICRA and the Rules and
Regulations framed thereunder in respect of updation, alteration of credit
information, resolving disputes, etc. Procedure prescribed under Rule 20 and 21
of the Credit Information Companies Rules, 2006 in this regard should be
adhered to. Deviations from stipulated time limits should be monitored and
commented upon in the periodical reports/reviews put up to the
Board/Committees of Board on customer service.
vii. Updation of credit information should take place on a monthly basis or at such
shorter intervals as may be mutually agreed upon between the bank/FI and the
CIC.
viii. All banks/FIs should give full customer information to the CICs. For instance,
identifier information like PAN No., Aadhaar No., Voters ID Card No., etc., is not
provided by banks/FIs for all records.
ix. Banks/FIs should mandate the usage of CIRs in their credit appraisal process.

21 
   
x. First time borrowers’ loan applications should not be rejected just because they
have no credit history.
xi. Banks/FIs and CICs should ensure that the credit records of borrowers are
regularly updated by banks/FIs and that issues such as where repayment of
the last instalment of a loan does not get reported does not arise.
[Recommendation 8.31]
xii. With a view to decreasing court cases involving banks/FIs and CICs,
complaints need to be addressed by them on an urgent basis. Banks/FIs and
CICs should have a structured process of complaint redressal for which a
Consumer Protection Committee under the Board should be constituted.
[Recommendation 8.34]

*********

22 
   
 Annex VI
[Ref: Para 2 (xi)]

Best Practices for Credit Information Companies

[Recommendations 8.26, 8.27, 8.28, 8.29, 8.30, 8.31, 8.32 and 8.34]

CICs should take following best practices into account and put in place a system for
consumer complaint redressal with the approval of their Board of Directors. Such
policy may be displayed on their websites.
i. CICs should abide by the period stipulated under the CICRA and the Rules and
Regulations framed thereunder in respect of updation, alteration of credit
information, resolution of disputes, etc. Procedure prescribed under Rules 25
and 26 of the CIC Rules, 2006 in this regard should be adhered to. Deviations
from stipulated time limits should be monitored and commented upon in the
periodical reports/reviews put up to the Board/Committees of Board on
customer service. [Recommendation 8.26(a)]
ii. CICs should have a structured and systematic process for redressing customer
grievance redressal. [Recommendation 8.26(b)]
iii. CICs should have a nodal officer for dealing with customer complaints.
[Recommendation 8.26(c)]
iv. CICs should have a system for conducting root cause analysis for complaints.
[Recommendation 8.26(d)]
v. Following a dispute regarding a CIR, if it is established that the reason for the
dispute lies with the CIC itself or with the information provided by a member
bank/FI to the CIC, the CIC may provide a free copy of the same type of CIR to
the customer after correction of the credit information. [Recommendation
8.26(e)]
vi. Data on complaints may be compiled by CICs on a quarterly basis. A quarterly
review on complaints may be put up to the Board of Directors.
[Recommendation 8.26(f)]
vii. Updation of credit information should take place on a monthly basis or at such
shorter intervals as may be mutually agreed upon between the bank/FI and the
CIC. [Recommendation 8.26(g)]
viii. In respect of commercial data, there are only limited records in the database
especially for the newer CICs. The CICs may prepare an action plan and

23 
   
 populate the database with historic data to improve their capabilities in the
area. [Recommendation 8.26(h)]
ix. Training should be organised by the CICs for member institutions on
understanding the formats, importance of data reporting and how to improve
data acceptance ratio. [Recommendation 8.26(i)]
x. Safeguards in respect of data usage in terms of Rule 27 of the Credit
Information Companies Rules, 2006 by specified users should be built into in
the agreements with the specified users. [Recommendation 8.26(j)]
xi. Whenever CIRs on the same borrower are accessed by more than one Credit
Institution simultaneously, within a period of one month, an alert may be
provided by the CIC to all the banks/FIs/Credit Institutions who have drawn the
reports to avoid multiple financing for the same purpose/to avoid fraudulent
transactions. [Recommendation 8.27]
xii. Alerts on borrowers who are changing their addresses/office are to be indicated
to other credit grantors without disclosing the name of the banks/FIs.
[Recommendation 8.28]
xiii. Behaviour pattern of the borrowers, viz., frequency of loans obtained,
frequency of banks/FIs approached, etc., may be provided as a separate value
added product by CICs. [Recommendation 8.29]
xiv. Customisation of reports as per the specific requirement of a specified user
may be done as a separate value added product by CICs which are not already
doing the same. [Recommendation 8.30]
xv. Banks/FIs and CICs should ensure that the credit records of borrowers are
regularly updated by banks/FIs and that issues such as where repayment of
the last instalment of a loan does not get reported does not arise.
[Recommendation 8.31]
xvi. All CICs should be ISO 27001:2013 certified for Information Security.
[Recommendation 8.32]
xvii. With a view to decreasing court cases involving banks/FIs and CICs,
complaints need to be addressed by them on an urgent basis. Banks/FIs and
CICs should have a structured process of complaint redressal for which a
Consumer Protection Committee under the Board should be constituted.
[Recommendation 8.34]

**********

24