More credit bureaus urged

The Standard Chartered Bank is urging Philippine monetary authorities to encourage the growth of more credit bureaus to protect both the consumers and the banking industry.

In a press briefing yesterday, Standard Chartered group regional head for consumer banking Sherazam Mazari said there is a pressing need for more credit bureaus as financial institutions are increasingly turning to the consumer lending market.

"It will allow the market to give low rates as the market increases in volume while risks are reduced," Mazari said.

Likewise, credit bureaus can create a database that will allow companies including financial institutions to be more discriminating towards credit seekers.

At present, there are three major players – (CIBI, BAP Credit Info, and PhilBizInfo) – in the credit bureau sector with a number of smaller ones playing minor roles.

Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is spearheading a move to consolidate the credit bureau industry under one umbrella.

This is the same recommendation made by the Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP) as the credit card industry has been experiencing a 10-percent delinquency rate.

"We are participating in that initiative,"Mazari added.

In another development, Standard Chartered Bank of the Philippines (SCBP) senior vice president Ajay Kanwal said they would like to achieve parity in loan portfolios between corporate and consumer lending by the end of the year.

This, he said, does not mean that there will be a decrease in corporate lending. „We would like to see a real growth in consumer lending while the corporate sector has been conservative," the senior bank official said.

With corporate lending appearing to have reached a plateau, the industry has been shifting to home loans, car loans, personal loans, credit cards, salary loans, and other types of consumer loans.