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How to read and interpret your Credit Information Report (CIR) - II

This week, we will cover the 2 most important aspects of your CIR which not only impact your CIBIL Score but are also studied in detail by the lenders. These are:

1. Account Information

It contains the details of your credit facilities- the name of the lender(s), the type of credit facilities (home loan, auto loan, credit card, etc.), account number(s), whether singly or jointly held, date of account opening, date of the last payment, loan amount, current balance, and most importantly, a month on month record of the latest 3 years of your payments towards your EMIs/ bills.

These details are integral to your ability to secure a loan. Debt-burden ratio, payment history, etc., which we discussed last week are all derived from this section. It is important to understand and go through them in detail before applying for any loan or credit card. In this section, always check the below details carefully:

• Your account details
It contains details such as the lender’s name, account number, account type (is it a credit card, personal loan, etc.), ownership (single/joint/guarantor), date the account was opened/ closed and the last date when these details were reported to CIBIL. Ensure that the details reflected in the account are factually correct.

• The status of the account
If your account has been written off/ settled/ suit filed, such cases may not be looked upon favourably by lenders. It is always advisable to have a clean account status. It is very important to understand the “Settled” and “Written off” terminologies. ‘Settled’ means a partial payment (in consent with the lender) has been made against the total outstanding.

When payments against the outstanding loan / credit card amount have not been made for more than 180 days, the lender “writes off” the amount and reports this on your CIR. Any such status may affect your credit eligibility adversely.

• Your DPD (Days Past Due) for every loan or credit card availed
The DPD indicates how many days a payment on that account is late by that month. Anything but “000” or “STD” is considered negative by the lender. The types of asset classification in the DPD section are:

• Standard (STD): Payments being made within 90 days
• Special Mention Account (SMA): Special account created for reporting Standard Accounts moving toward Sub-Standard
• Sub-Standard (SUB): Payments being made after 90 days
• Doubtful (DBT): The account has remained Sub-Standard for 12 months
• Loss (LSS): An account where loss has been identified and remains uncollectible

“XXX” on your DPD for a certain account implies that information for these months has not been reported to CIBIL by the banks. A number in the DPD column indicates that the payment is late by that many days. “050”, for instance, means the payment is 50 days late. “000” means the payment is on time, so there is no deviation or late payment.

2. Enquiry Information

This provides details of your loan applications. An ‘enquiry’ means that a credit institution has requested your credit details from CIBIL. Lenders may tread with caution considering your multiple enquiries in a short span of time, which shows a behaviour of seeking excessive credit.