Irish Credit Bureau

St. Mary’s Parish Credit Union Limited are members of the Irish Credit Bureau and when you make a loan application you will be asked to sign a consent allowing the Credit Union to carry out a credit check.

What is the Irish Credit Bureau?

The Irish Credit Bureau (ICB) is the principal credit reference agency in Ireland and was established in 1965 by a number of financial institutions. The objectives of ICB are :-

• To assist in lowering the cost of credit
• To enable faster decision making in the provision of credit
• Aid in the avoidance of over- indebtedness of its member’s customers.

Over 250 banks, building societies, finance companies, credit unions and local authorities are members of ICB.

Why has the credit union joined ICB?

The Board of Directors has a responsibility under credit union and consumer credit legislation to safeguard the assets of the credit union and to ensure that members do not become over-indebted. For loan applications, this means minimising the risk of default by obtaining as much information as possible on a member’s financial situation in order to properly assess their ability to repay their loan in accordance with their loan agreement. An ICB enquiry will greatly assist us in this assessment.

Will ICB affect my ability to get a loan?

The main factors in determining whether a loan is granted are your borrowing and repayment history with the credit union and your ability to meet the repayments. In common with other lenders, we may request information about your income, employment status, living costs and existing loan repayments to help decide whether you can afford to repay a loan and the ICB is a source of information but it is the credit union who will decide on the loan.

Do you need my permission to contact ICB?

Yes. When you make a loan application, you will be asked to sign an ICB Consent. This consent gives us permission to seek information about your credit history from ICB and to send information about you to the ICB.

What information does ICB hold?

The ICB holds information about borrowers and their loans for 5 years after the loan is cleared. This information is held in an individual credit record that is kept by ICB about each borrower. Your credit record includes:-

• • your name, date of birth and address;
• • the names of lenders and account numbers of loans you currently hold, or that were active within the last 5 years;
• • repayments made or missed for each month on each loan;
• • the failure to clear off any loan;
• • loans that were settled for less than you owed;
• • legal actions any lender took against you.

So, the ICB reflects a full picture of your credit history, good or bad.

What information will ICB give the credit union?

Details of current borrowings and loans that have been repaid or closed in the last 5 years for all ICB members are shown in response to an ICB enquiry. Details include the loan amount, category and repayment history. The database also shows ‘footprints’ of enquiries made by ICB members in the previous 12 months.

What information will the Credit Union give ICB?

The credit union provides the same information to ICB as other ICB members – details in relation to the loan and its repayment history. This does not extend to loans taken out or repayment histories prior to the credit union becoming a member of ICB. However, where a loan incorporates an existing loan (i.e., a top-up), the new balance is the figure disclosed to ICB. Confidentiality and disclosure of your personal information is subject to the Data Protection Acts 1988 – 2003 and the Credit Union Act 1997.

What happens if I do not give consent?

Your loan application will still be processed but we will require you to provide us with alternative evidence of your financial circumstances that will give us the same level of information as we would obtain from ICB, before the loan can be considered.

Can I see my credit history?

We CANNOT show you the report we receive from the ICB, however, you can obtain a copy of your credit history by completing an ICB Private Enquiry Form. The quickest way to do this is through the ICB website, www.icb.ie. There is a fee of €6 payable to ICB in respect of this.