Shenzen -- The
local government issued a set of regulations on the rating and
management of a personal credit system on Wednesday, making the
city the first in the country to legally regulate its system of
personal credit.
The regulations, to come into effect on January 1, are the result
of over two years of work of the Shenzhen Legislative Affairs
Bureau and the Shenzhen branch of the
People's Bank of China.
According to the regulations, institutions to deal with collecting,
counseling and rating personal credit will be set up to provide
credit information to banks and other users.
Such institutions must get approval from both the Shenzhen
municipal government and the Shenzhen Branch of the People's Bank
of China before their establishment, and undergo related industrial
and commercial registration procedures. Individuals will not be
allowed to set up personal credit rating services.
The regulations state that the rating institutions must get
approval from the target person before collecting personal credit
information, and that the information gathered must be kept
confidential by the institutions and authorized users.
According to the regulations, information gathered will be divided
into the following four categories:
The first is personal facts such as name, sex, birth date, career
and education.
The second category includes business credit records such as loans
and their payment, credit cards used and other credit records in
banks.
The third covers social information such as records of tax payment
and insurance.
The final category concerns special records such as civil, criminal
and administrative punishments that may influence the person's
record status.
The regulation will help boost the personal credit services of the
commercial banks in Shenzhen, said Li Huanan, director of the
Shenzhen Legislative Affairs Bureau.
He
went on to explain that the establishment of such a system will
better help banks avoid financial risks, and will contribute to the
better management of market and social order.
Rating agencies must get approval from the target person before the
gathering and rating operation to avoid infringement of privacy, he
said.
(China
Daily December 28, 2001)