MyState joins CCR regime

MyState Bank has announced that it is one of the first lenders to have 100 per cent of its CCR data ready for reporting. As such, MyState Bank said it would be in “a better position to match customers with the right type of product for their specific credit situation”.

The National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Mandatory Comprehensive Credit Reporting) Bill 2018, which was introduced into parliament mid-last year, requires lenders to report positive credit information, such as when minimum payments on a credit card, mortgage or personal loan are being made on time.

While the bill has been put on the backburner numerous times, the financial services industry has been making progress in adapting to the new regime.

By the end of September 2018, which was the government-imposed deadline for the major banks to insert 50 per cent of their CCR data into a data exchange system, the big four banks, along with Citibank, HSBC, Teachers Mutual Bank, RateSetter and MoneyPlace had become participants in the regime.

The government said that 100 per cent of CCR data would need to be shared by the big four banks by the end of September 2019, and the deadlines for other lenders are 12 months after the major banks.

It is believed that CCR will allow all participating lenders, including non-banks and fintechs, to better assess the risk status of a loan applicant.

“CCR is seen as an important tool for consumers to take control of their credit reputation,” MyState Bank said.

“It will also allow banks and other licensed credit providers to access a more holistic picture of a consumer’s credit profile, enabling them to make more informed and responsible lending decisions.”

The bank’s managing director and CEO, Melos Sulicich, stated that “customers can expect a more accurate credit score reflective of their actual behaviour”, further noting that Australians with blemishes on their credit report would not necessarily have to be disadvantaged due to past financial hardships.

“For MyState Bank, the onboarding of CCR puts us in the best possible position to ensure we are aligning our products with the best interests of customers, based on their personal credit-related behaviour,” Mr Sulicich added.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) noted in its 2018 report, Australian Structured Finance: Credit Analysis in a Digital Ecosystem, that CCR would also “facilitate greater consistency in debt-serviceability assessments”.

The ratings agency further predicted that an open data model would reduce the financial services industry’s reliance on time-intensive manual processes, because a greater amount of information will be quickly and easily obtainable, which in turn will improve operational efficiency and scalability, while “[reducing] the risk of deterioration in lending standards during periods of strong growth, when headcount might not keep pace with lending growth”.

[Related: CCR could be a ‘gold standard’ for credit risk]