Singapore moneylender credit bureau to open next year

The Singapore Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has appointed DP Information Group (DP Info) to run the Moneylenders Credit Bureau (MLCB), which will require all licensed moneylenders to provide information on their loans and the payment behaviour of their customers. This information can then be accessed by other licensed moneylenders when evaluating a potential loan.

Individuals can currently take out multiple loans from different moneylenders, with no cross-checks on whether they can afford repayments. The MLCB will now give moneylenders access to up-to-date information on an applicant's creditworthiness and indebtedness to help them to make informed decisions, DP Info.

This will curb excessive borrowing and "help debtors to keep their loan commitments at a more manageable level", DP Info said.

"Borrowers can also rest assured that information submitted to the MLCB will not be made available to other entities besides licensed moneylenders, unless explicit approval has been obtained from MinLaw," DP Info said.

DP Info currently operates two other credit bureaux in Singapore: the DP Credit Bureau, for banks, and the DP SME Commercial Credit Bureau.

Lincoln Teo, chief operating officer of DP Info said: "The introduction of the MLCB brings us even closer to a holistic assessment of a borrower's credit worthiness and repayment abilities. Coupled with our other bureaux and through DP Info's sophisticated technology, we hope to provide the licensed moneylending community with more data and information to make better decisions."