Discrimination in Credit Limit-Interest-Using Money by Card

`Individual credit society` through which every financial agency can see individual`s financial status and individual can be treated according to his credibility is coming.

3~4 Credit Bureau (CB), will share personal credit information, which each financial agency have respectively, with other financial agencies and will start in domestic this year.

Song Tae Jun, chairman of Korea Information Service stated on the 24th, "Credit Bureau (CB), that will be established with bank, insurance, and capital companies, will be launched on the 28th." and "this is first time in domestic, and Trans Union company, which is the third CB in the world, will participate too."

Trans Union plans to provide its know how such as marking personal credit and credit enquiry, in place of taking 4% of shares of Korea Information Service.

If financial agency is provided with information from CB, loan availability, loan limit and interest, kinds of credit cards and scale of settlement will be discriminated, therefore, it is expected that credit society like developed country will settle down.

Also, although client applies for issuance of card or loan from financial agency which he doesn`t deal with, the financial agency will decide card issue or loan on the basis of CB`s information.

Banks like Henbit, First, Choheung, Card companies like LG, Dongyang, Hyundai and Capital companies like Samsung, Hyundai, Ssangyong, Corong, Daewoo will participate in CB that Korea Information Service promotes.

And Hana, Kyobo life insurance, Samsung life insurance unions are discussing on joining it affirmatively.

Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) composed consortium with main banks and plans to lay foundation for CB and let second financial industry like Insurance, Stocks, Cards and Private Credit Bureau, Government and Public Organizations participate.

Kookmin bank that has more than 29 million clients is promoting foundation of independent CB.

Currently, KFB collects information of those who have defaulted credit, such as not paying loan interest for more than 3 months or not paying card money or clients who loaned above 10 million won, and shares with each financial agencies.

If CB is established, things like ∆ account information which client opens at each financial agencies ∆ list of loan and payment ∆ card settlement information ∆ delay or fine or each tax will be shared.

Kim Such Dong, chief of 1 dept in financial supervisory commission pointed out "As loan of families is increasing rapidly recently, therefore, individual credit evaluation system is urgently required which can handle the risk in developed country." and stated, "government plans to support the establishment of CB aggressively."

sckim@donga.com · eye@donga.com