Potential to Boost MSME Growth in Upcoming Webinar

The Credit Information Corporation (CIC), the country’s sole public credit registry and repository of credit information, in partnership with the Philippine Finance Association (PFA), will conduct a free public webinar titled, “The CIC Credit Report and potential for MSME growth,” on 05 August 2022, Friday.

The session will tackle how CIC’s Credit Information System can contribute to the growth and recovery of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), by enabling and improving their access to formal credit.

“The CIC aims to mainstream the use of credit information in the finance and credit ecosystem. Ultimately, our goal is also to eliminate the need for collateral to qualify for and secure loans by making the CIC Credit Report a widely-accepted form of reputational collateral, especially for our MSMEs,” CIC President and CEO Ben Joshua A. Baltazar said.

The MSME sector comprised 99.5 percent of the total enterprises in the country, and generated 63 percent of total employment in 2020.

To date, the CIC database contains the credit data of more than 105,000 companies or corporations, the majority of which are MSMEs.

“The credit information and reporting system of the CIC addresses information asymmetrie in lending transactions. This facilitates more accurate credit risk assessments for lenders to avoid defaults and, in turn, lowers the overall cost of credit for MSMEs and individual borrowers,” PCEO Baltazar added.

The PCEO further emphasized that the diverse and comprehensive CIC database continues to be the most cost-effective way for lenders to properly assess the creditworthiness of their borrowers.

Towards improving access to finance for MSMEs

The PCEO also shared that the CIC continues to explore potential areas for collaboration with various government agencies, who share the same mandate and the same goal of improving access to finance for MSMEs.

In April, CIC directed the BSP-accredited digital banks to register as submitting entities to further accelerate financial inclusion and to contribute to the overall availability of credit, especially for the unbanked MSMEs which lack a formal credit footprint.

“We would like to highlight to our borrowers, especially the MSMEs, that the CIC is the better way to borrow. The CIC’s credit information and reporting system promotes and instills a healthy credit culture by incentivizing borrowers to nurture their creditworthiness. Additionally, credit health is maintained by preventing instances of over-indebtedness by facilitating the free flow of information and risk-based lending practices,” PCEO Baltazar said.

The CIC is currently implementing its Direct to Consumer (D2C) through AE program which provides MSMEs and individuals with ready and immediate access to their CIC Credit Reports through their preferred Accessing Entities, such as banks and lending companies.

The PCEO shared that CIC aims to integrate the D2C program into the digital channels and mobile applications of participating lenders starting Q3 of this year, for added convenience and easy access to their lending clients.

Be #creditworthy with the CIC Academy

The upcoming webinar, which is under the CIC’s flagship educational program “CIC Academy”, will feature resource speakers from the CIC, Mr. Valdimir H. Dela Cruz, Senior Vice President of the Business Development and Communications Group, and PFA, Mr. Kevin John Cabanban, Asialink Finance Corporation’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Sales and Marketing.

To know more about the CIC Credit Report and how it can support MSME growth, register for free at https://bit.ly/CICAcademy2022Aug05 and join the webinar via Zoom or Facebook Live to receive a certificate of participation.  You may also email us at communications@creditinfo.gov.ph or follow the official Facebook page of CIC for the latest information and updates on CIC’s activities and events.

The Credit Information Corporation (CIC), a government-owned and controlled corporation, was created by Republic Act No. 9510, otherwise known as the Credit Information System Act (CISA). The primary mandate of CIC is to establish a comprehensive and centralized credit information system for the collection and dissemination of fair and accurate information relevant to, or arising from, credit and credit-related activities of all entities participating in the ecosystem.