More enquiries over credit profile post financial crisis: CIBIL

NEW DELHI: Credit Information Bureau ( CIBIL) today said financial institutions are making more enquiries about credit profile of entities post the financial crisis, and about 20 per cent of them are about auto loans.

"More than 20 per cent of all enquiries made at CIBIL by credit institutions for assessing new loan applicants are for auto loans, with Delhi NCR contributing to over 34 per cent of all auto loan enquiries (made in bigger cities)," CIBIL Managing Director Arun Thukral said.

He said after the 2008 financial crisis, banks have tightened their credit policies and have reduced their exposure specifically to unsecured debt like credit cards and personal loans.

The banks, Thukral said, are now more cautious in giving housing loans to customers with a lower credit rating.

"Earlier while the banks used to give loans to entities with score of 600 out of 900 in the CIBIL profile rating, now they are mostly preferring a higher rating of around 800," Thukral said.

According to CIBIL data, the main drivers of credit growth post June quarter of 2009 has been in the secured loans segment like auto, two-wheeler and home loans.

The data also showed that auto loans has been on a rise in smaller cities in India over the past three years.

The smaller cities contribute to over 57 per cent of all auto loan enquiries and have shown the highest growth in number of auto loan enquiries in last three years, CIBIL said.

It said that while overall number of auto loans disbursed is growing, the average loan size has also been on the rise since the past three years.

CIBIL, India's largest credit information bureau maintains credit information of more than 22 crore consumers and one lakh businesses. CIBIL score helps borrowers gauge their current financial position and improve their chances of acquiring a loan.