Press release - Electronic system for the exchange of information regarding the indebtedness of private individuals and business entities will begin functioning on 3 January 2017

The Bank of Slovenia is establishing the Central Credit Register (CKR) in accordance with the Central Credit Register Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 77/16; ZCKR). CKR will constitute a centralised national database of the indebtedness of private individuals and business entities. As an element of the CKR, an electronic system for the exchange of information regarding the indebtedness of private individuals and business entities will begin functioning on 3 January 2017. In addition to the existing SISBON information system (containing data regarding the indebtedness of private individuals), from 3 January the SISBIZ information system for the exchange of data and information regarding the indebtedness of business entities will be available. 

Similar to the SISBON before it, the SISBIZ will be accessible via the Bank of Slovenia’s website at www.bsi.si under the subpage ‘Central Credit Register’. 

Purpose of the establishment of the CKR and information exchange system
The CKR (and within it the SISBON and SISBIZ information exchange systems) is being established for the purpose of improving the processes of assessing and managing lenders’ credit risks, encouraging policies and measures for responsible lending and sustainable borrowing, preventing excessive borrowing by both private individuals and business entities, and aiding in the performance of the Bank of Slovenia’s tasks (risk management, macroprudential supervision, administration of monetary policy, maintenance of financial stability, etc.). The establishment of a central credit register in Slovenia also follows actions in the European banking area, where the European Central Bank and the central banks of the euro area and certain other countries are continuing processes to establish a dataset with detailed information on individual bank loans in the euro area, known as the Analytical Credit Datasets (AnaCredit).

Who submits data? 
In addition to banks and savings banks, other lenders whose principal line of business is the conclusion of loan agreements, the provision of finance leasing or factoring services, lenders providing real estate leasing services, payment service providers, the Bank Asset Management Company, the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, the Eco Fund and the Ministry of Finance’s Public Payments Administration as the asset manager for the government’s single treasury account are all required to report data to the information exchange system and CCR. As members of the information exchange system, the aforementioned reporting entities will be able to access all the data exchanged in the system. In addition to the aforementioned members, certain other lenders (persons providing consumer lending services or legal entities that are established in Slovenia and whose principal business activity is to provide lending services by entering into loan agreements) may also join the information exchange system under the same conditions that apply to mandatory members.
 

Which information will be collected? 
Data regarding borrowers (name, surname, address, information regarding personal bankruptcy, etc.), data regarding credit transactions (loans, approved overdraft facilities on payment accounts, transactions with payment instruments, arrears of more than 90 days in the payment of liabilities, information regarding tax, administrative and court enforcement orders via banks, etc.) and data regarding accepted sureties are collected in the SISBON database on the indebtedness of private individuals. Personal data in the exchange system and CCR are processed in accordance with the law governing personal data protection. 
In accordance with Article 17 of the ZCKR, the following data regarding the indebtedness of business entities are exchanged in the SISBIZ database: basic data regarding borrowers (company name, business address, tax/registration number, data regarding insolvency proceedings and other data from business registers) and data regarding credit transactions (date of conclusion, unpaid liabilities, collateral, arrears, etc.). The Bank of Slovenia may also request the exchange of additional data, such as information regarding forborne exposures, performing/non-performing exposures and the classification of exposures. 
As is already the practice in the SISBON, all private individuals and business entities about whom data are collected and exchanged in the system will be able to find out which data have been collected on them, and by whom, when and for what purpose they have been accessed. The ZCKR also envisages fines for members of the system and their responsible persons that fail to meet the prescribed technical and security requirements, or use data contrary to the purposes set out in the law.

Security aspect
The Bank of Slovenia will place a great deal of emphasis on the security aspect of the information exchange system, i.e. on mechanisms to prevent the potential abuse of data. The starting point in this regard were best practices drawn from the existing information exchange system for private individuals (SISBON), which will be further strengthened in certain areas. Special emphasis will be placed on enhanced audits of the fulfilment of information security requirements and standards, both at new members in the process of joining the information exchange system and at existing members. A full audit trail will be provided within the framework of the information exchange system, so that at any moment it is possible to determine when the data of an individual or business entity were accessed, by whom, and for what purpose. The ZCKR envisages major fines (ranging from EUR 5,000 to EUR 150,000) for violations associated with access to information.