Credit Unions will already be familar with the introduction of a Central Credit Register (CCR) by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) and their partner CRIF (a leading provider of credit information systems in Europe). In our Q3 2016 Compliance update, we mentioned the CBI issued the final regulations for the CCR in September, and since then they have released more information on the subject, as well as holding seminars around the subject.
We know this has created some questions about what it all means for Credit Unions – so we’re here to help.
Just what is the Central Credit Registry?
The CCR will be a database of personal and credit information, created by a mandatory credit reporting system. With the CCR, you’ll have access to a Single Borrower View. This means that you can see all the credit details of a specific borrower worth more than €500, all in one consolidated place. Enquiries on the system will be available from the 31st December 2017, and you'll have an obligation to use the CCR when making your loan decisions from the 30th of September 2018.
How will the CCR impact Credit Unions?
The CCR is designed to ensure consumer protection and financial stability. The data held within the CCR will give lenders such as Credit Unions a comprehensive analysis of a borrowers’ creditworthiness, avoiding issues with fraudulent loan applications, or money from your Credit Union moving into areas you’d rather it wasn’t associated with.
Having this information available also means that borrowers can’t get into huge amounts of debt, which means a more stable loan book for your Credit Union with the opportunity for growth. The CCR also gives the Central Bank an insight into financial markets, meaning they can support functions like statistics, financial stability, and prudential supervision. Multiple individuals can register on the CCR website, which means that information can be accessed throughout your Credit Union, not just by a select few.
So what does your Credit Union need to do?
You'll have the option to start submitting your data to the CCR from the 30th June 2017 - but whether you choose to start then or later, all your information has to be with the CCR by December 31st 2017.
With the recent communication from CBI and the seminars from the CBI and CRIF in November, we know that some Credit Unions are worried that they won’t be prepared for the CCR’s arrival.
Each Credit Union will have been sent details of how to register for the CCR. Every Credit Union is a seperate legal entity, which means the onus is on you to make sure you're on the list! There's a lot of in-depth information about what's happening with the CCR on their official website, so it's a good idea to register as soon as you can.
At Wellington IT, we take staying up to date with the world of compliance seriously. Not only do we have a dedicated compliance manager to keep our customers ahead of the curve, but we have appointed a project manager to focus on helping them to make the transition from the ICB to the CCR. This project is due to start early in 2017, and our customers will receive further information in the New Year.
If you’d like to find out more about how Wellington IT can help your Credit Union with its compliance needs, just get in touch.
Alternatively, if you'd like to access our Q3 Compliance update, you can do so here.
