The Central Credit Register (the Register) is the centralised system that collects and stores information about loans. The Central Bank of Ireland operates the Register under the Credit Reporting Act, 2013. The Register began to collect personal and credit information from lenders about consumer loans on the 30th June 2017. This information is stored securely and used to generate individual credit reports on borrowers.
Information
The Register only collects and stores information on loans of €500 or more. It does not collect information on loans under €500. The following are categories of information are included;
- Credit cards
- Overdrafts
- Personal loans
- Mortgages
Reason for the Register
The reason behind the keeping of the Register is to assist lenders, borrowers and the Central Bank in relation to lending. Essentially, lenders can use credit reports generated by the Register to get a picture of a borrower’s credit history. This is for the purpose of allowing them to decide if they should approve a loan application or not. As is apt in this time of data protection, borrowers can of course obtain their personal credit report at any one time to ascertain the information that lenders hold on them.
Credit Reports
Credit reports can be obtained at any time free of charge. In keeping with data protection rights, an applicant will be required to produce identification documentation. Outside of yourself and lenders, no other individual/institution can access your credit report without your consent and each time a request is made it is recorded as a footprint.
Further Information
To find out more about the Register and how it works, please access www.centralcreditregister.ie
