Why is my credit score important?
If you’ve only got a minute:
- Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) collects and aggregates information to provide borrowers’ total credit risk profile to financial institutions.
- Financial institutions refer to your credit report to determine their willingness to lend to you and the price at which they will lend to you.
- Your account repayment history is kept on a 12-month rolling basis for your credit score calculation, so it is possible to improve your score for the future.
Did you know that your credit payment history is “on the record” and affects how financial institutions like banks regard you as a borrower?
This may sound scary. But it is a fact of life in almost every country with a developed financial system.
So, instead of freaking out, understand how the system works, and stay in its “good books”, so you can get access to loans at the best rates.
In Singapore, the heart of this system is an organisation called Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS), which collects and aggregates information from participating members, which range from banks to finance companies to credit card companies, to provide a total credit risk profile of borrowers to financial institutions.
This profile informs financial institutions of your credit risk and is at the core of their willingness to lend to you and determines the price at which they will lend to you.
How does your behaviour affect your credit rating?
At the heart of CBS’ service is the “credit score”, which rates you on your financial activities – giving lenders an understanding of your ability to service loans and your risk of defaulting on your loans.
Here are some factors that determine your credit score.
Number of credit applications and amount of credit used
If you have been taking on new credit facilities (i.e. more debt) within a short period of time, financial institutions may suspect you are over-extending yourself. This could lower your score.
Late payments on loans
This is also known as “delinquency” and are regarded in a negative light. If you often pay your bills or loans late, it will drag down your credit score.
The length of your credit history
Lenders prefer borrowers with longer credit histories over those with shorter or no credit histories. Of course, you would want to ensure a good history of prompt repayments to support your credit score.
Available credit
This refers to the number of credit facilities you have. Your credit score can be lowered if you have multiple lines of credit and credit cards.
The number of credit applications and banks’ inquiries
Every time you apply for a new loan or a credit card, the financial institution involved will inquire into your credit score with CBS. This is then noted by CBS and shared with other financial institutions.
Your credit score may be negatively affected if you have made many such applications within a short space of time, as it will signal that you are looking to take on more debt.
Read more: Rolling over credit card debt is no game
What is your credit score?
Your credit behaviour as outlined above is aggregated into a score between 1,000 and 2,000. Those on the lowest end of the scale, that is 1,000 points, are flagged as having the highest risk of defaulting on a payment. They are rated HH. Those at the highest end of the score range, at 2,000 points, are perceived to have the lowest risk. And they would enjoy the best credit rating of AA.
Lenders will use the credit score as one factor in their lending decisions. Other factors may include your annual salary, length of employment and bankruptcy or litigation information. Your credit score may also influence whether the lender will extend loans to you at the lowest rates offered to the borrowers with the best credit rating.
Your account repayment history is kept on a 12-month rolling basis, for your credit score calculation. So, it is possible to rebuild your account repayment record within 12 months if you are on time with all your payments.
However, inquiries by financial institutions for your credit report will be retained for 2 years. Default records with the status of “negotiated” or “full settlement” will be displayed for 3 years. Default records with status of outstanding, partial payment and “sold off” will be displayed indefinitely.
Read more: 10 tips to avoid the credit trap
What happens if your debt spirals out of control?
This is why it is important to keep tabs on your debt situation and stay in control. If you are in default of debt exceeding S$15,000, your creditor (lender) can take bankruptcy proceedings against you.
In the event of bankruptcy, all your assets (except for protected assets such as your HDB flat and CPF monies) will be sold, with proceeds going towards settling your debts.
If you are employed, you will also have to make a monthly contribution from your salary, to the “bankruptcy estate”. This will go towards paying down your debts. Your record of bankruptcy from the Insolvency and Public Trustees Office will remain on your credit report for 5 years after you have been discharged from bankruptcy.
Do you know what your credit score is?
Most of us don’t have a clue on where we stand with lenders.
It takes only a few minutes to check your credit status online and costs only S$8.00 with prevailing GST. If you have recently made an application for a credit card, the processing bank would have made an application for your credit report and may share it with you at no charge.
For urgent requests, you can pay S$19.44 at any SingPost branch for a soft copy to be sent to you via email within 2 hours.
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Disclaimers and Important Notice
This article is meant for information only and should not be relied upon as financial advice. Before making any decision to buy, sell or hold any investment or insurance product, you should seek advice from a financial adviser regarding its suitability.
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