The Credit Information Corporation (CIC) officially welcomed Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) as the first to gain access to the Credit Information System (CIS) in its paid phase access.

In its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), the CIC authorized UnionBank to access its database either directly from the credit registry or through its accredited credit bureaus.

“We welcome UnionBank as our first accessing entity among universal banks. The decision to  recognizing the value of the CIC database in credit decision-making, especially in the time of COVID-19 as a bank that prides itself in its innovations to serve the constantly changing needs of Filipino consumers, accessing credit reports from the CIC puts it first in line to deal with the financial impacts of COVID-19 on its borrowers,” said CIC President and CEO Jaime Casto P. Garchitorena.

“This move is part of our commitment to deliver superior customer experiences and promote inclusive prosperity in the country. Now that we are officially accessing the CIC database, we will gain a balanced view of an individual’s creditworthiness and grant them with the opportunity to be properly evaluated when availing our loans and other services,” said UnionBank Chief Risk Officer Ronaldo Peralta.

CIC Senior Vice President for Business Development and Communications Atty. Aileen L. Amor-Bautista commended UnionBank for its dedication to comply with the requirements for access.

“We recognize the challenges of seeing CIC not just as a regulatory entity but as an actual solutions partner and does require some innovative thinking. The CIC has always espoused looking beyond the compliance nature of engaging with a state-run enterprise and we are grateful that despite the logistical and technological challenges brought about by community quarantine, UnionBank made this engagement a priority,” Amor-Bautista said.

UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista likewise expressed the bank’s commitment to support the economy by ensuring substantially broader access to financial services especially for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) amid the COVID-19 crisis.

“With our digital platforms in full swing and with the recent grant of access to the CIC database, I believe that UnionBank is all geared up to expand its loan portfolio and client reach, especially to MSMEs that have been adversely affected by the pandemic and are a vital component of our economy,” Bautista said.

Since the CIC opened the registration for paid phase access in July 2019, there has been an increasing number of requests across the country to become an accessing entity.

As of 30 March 2020, the CIC database contains 11.3 million unique individuals and 83,000 companies/proprietors, with 73.5 million contract data—52.8 million of which are installment transactions, 19.9 million are credit cards, and 767,177 are non-installment.