The establishment of the Moneylenders Credit Bureau (MLCB) in Singapore in Mar 2016 brought order to Singapore’s moneylending sector.
There is now a centralised system that oversees the flow of moneylending activities in Singapore. This ensures activities run smoothly and transparently for the benefit of both borrowers and licensed money lenders.
Lenders can get access to borrowers’ full credit history, while borrowers can manage their credit better by having the MLCB loan information report made available to them.
Read on to find out what is money lender credit bureau and how you can use its services to aid your financial decisions – as a borrower or lender.
What Is Money Lender Credit Bureau?
The MLCB is Singapore’s central data repository of borrowers’ credit history with licensed money lenders.
It only collects information pertaining to borrowers’ records with licensed money lenders. It does not include any information related to bank loans and bank deposits. It also does not make lending decisions on behalf of the money lenders.
Lenders use the information stored herein as a reference when they are reviewing loan applications, so that they can make more informed decisions about where to direct their capital. They assess borrowers’ credit situations and their ability to pay loans, before deciding on whether to disburse the loan.
Borrowers also benefit because the comprehensive loan reports from the MLCB help them assess their financial situations and manage their debts better.
Using these reports, they are able to manage the amount of credit they have and finances by reassessing their decisions to borrow, and how best to get to a better financial position.
So before borrowing any money, borrowers are encouraged to get their MLCB reports so they can assess their financial situation more accurately.
From 1 Jul 2021, the Ministry of Law appointed the Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) to manage the MLCB.
What Is Included In A Loan Information Report?
A loan information report, also called a money lender report or an MLCB report, comprises a summary of your credit situation and loan repayment history compiled from different money lenders in Singapore.
It is used by a money lender to assess your creditworthiness before it approves your loan. If your loan information report is good, your chances of getting a loan are higher.
Here are the details included in the money lender report:
- Your personal information such as your full name and NRIC number. It does not indicate your telephone number or address
- Employment details, including your employment type and income. If you’re running a business or have an informal job without a standard monthly cheque, this section also shows your average monthly income and annual income
- Total loan amount owed to licensed money lenders in both secured and unsecured loans granted to you. The outstanding loan amount is updated in real time, and becomes part of your repayment history
- Your repayment status, which indicates your repayment history for the last 12 months, and your ability to manage debts by making timely payments
- Bankruptcy record to indicate whether you were a bankrupt in the past five years. Once you repay your loan fully, the records are cancelled and taken off your report
- Accounts that have been terminated or closed dating back to three years from the time of the report
- Self-exclusion listing that shows the loan types from which you excluded yourself, including unsecured loans you got from licensed money lenders
How Often Is It Updated?
Your money lender report is updated every time CBS receives new data from the money lenders. The data is refreshed daily, weekly, or monthly – depending on the financial institution from which you obtained the loan and the financial products you are dealing with.
Who Can Access The Report?
Only four parties can access the MLCB credit report. They are: borrowers, licensed money lenders, the Registry of Moneylenders, and the Ministry of Law.
Borrowers have the right to retrieve their credit reports any time they wish for a small fee. Licensed money lenders can access the report when you request for a loan and may continue to do so as long as you have an active loan with them.
The Ministry of Law and the Registry of Moneylenders can access the reports on their servers.
Besides these four parties, no other party has authorised access.
How Can You Improve Your Credit Report?
You can improve your credit standing by doing the following:
- Only borrow the amount of money that you can confidently commit to and make timely payments for. Any missed payments are reflected on the loan information report
- Do not default on any loan
- Avoid making multiple loan enquiries to money lenders in Singapore within a short period
- Repay your loans as soon as possible to improve your credit report
- Avoid having too many loan facilities at a time
How And When To Check The Report
Borrowers are advised to check their credit reports at least once every year. This is the best way to ensure that the information therein is correct and deter identity theft.
Follow these steps to access the credit report:
- Visit the Singpass website and sign up to create a new account or just sign in if you already have an existing account.
- Type in your personal information you are asked to enter.
- After filling up the personal information form, you will be asked to choose the credit report you wish to access. You do not have to pay for the report on your first request, but on subsequent requests, you have to pay a small fee.
- Your request will be directed to a specific agency based on the report you chose. The agency will ask you to answer some questions to verify your identity, which may include your credit card number and phone number.
Alternatively, you can purchase a copy of the Moneylenders Credit Bureau loan information report by clicking here.
The MLCB Report Is Useful To Borrowers
Now that you know what is money lender credit bureau, you should understand how the information on your report affects your borrowing capacity.
This is because the MLCB caps the number of loans a borrower can have at a particular time. Whenever money lenders want to offer you a loan, they use the MLCB to determine the risks involved in lending the money before giving you their final decision.
If they determine that you are likely to default, they may turn down your loan request. But if you are always up to date with your payments, the report will reflect positively on you. This may increase your borrowing limit.
Borrowers are also able to manage their loans and keep track of them. This is particularly important because those who are in need of money may approach several money lenders.
Without any transparency, getting all these loans at the same time can be disastrous. Such borrowers would find themselves stuck in multiple debts and not know how to get out of them. Through the MLCB, borrowers and lenders can learn to be financially cautious so that they can borrow and spend within their means.
Need a loan but don’t know which lender to approach?
Lending Bee has distinguished itself in Singapore as a reliable licensed money lender that offers affordable financial products to borrowers.
We consider customers from all walks of life, even those who are doubtful of their eligibility due to the status of their money lenders report.
But as professionals, we will assess your financial position and offer you credit, or assist you with managing your current debt to be able to access some credit in future.
Visit Lending Bee in any of its four locations: Orchard, Bedok North, Yishun, or Jurong East. Contact us at 6219 1611 or apply for a loan with us now.
About Ashley Sim
Calling herself a “professional multi-tasker”, Ashley worked as a relationship manager in a bank for five years. She left her job just before the pandemic happened and became a freelance writer for about a year. Now, she’s making the most of her love for writing and knowledge of the banking and financial industry in her role as a content marketing lead. She hopes to help people make better financial decisions through her content and campaigns.
