The Virginia Small Business Commission made no recommendation about whether to support or oppose House Bill 2198, which would affect commercial credit reports in the commonwealth. It did, however, urge both parties in favor of and against the bill to work together to find common ground to address a perceived problem regarding the rights of the subject of a commercial credit report.
The bill aims to institute reforms that could threaten the availability of credit information on Virginia businesses, as companies that contribute trade lines and payment data to the commercial credit reporting agencies might stop reporting rather than face identification, and possible retaliation, by their customers.
NACM has opposed HB 2198 since its introduction and was on hand at the meeting to make the case against the bill’s identification provision. This measure would require commercial credit reporting agencies to make the source of a certain piece of information on a commercial credit report known to the subject of that report, if the information was considered “negative,” a term the bill fails to define.
Courtesy Jacob Barron, CICP, NACM staff writer (National Association of Credit Management)
BIIA Comment: The availability of accurate, reliable and timely information is critical for SMEs to have access to finance and trade credit. The bill will have the opposite effect. The decision of the Virginia Small Business Commission is therefore disappointing!
