A Credit Rating by the Credit Information Bureau India Limited or CIBIL score, as you may know, is a measurement of creditworthiness that a consumer carries. It is a standard scoring model that checks your eligibility whether or not you are eligible to take credit, both on Credit Card and loan.
CIBIL is the first credit bureau of India and a pioneer in determining the credit ratings of the customers. Thus, CIBIL score primarily directed loan approval process of Indian Banks and has been considered as one of the truest modes of measuring the worthiness of a customer.
Now, even though there were no issues with the CIBIL 1.0, the regulatory authority, because of the changing market needs took a transformation and moved to CIBIL 2.0. CIBIL Score 1.0 was introduced in 2009, while CIBIL Score 2.0 was launched in 2014.
The main reason behind the shift from CIBIL 1.0 to CIBIL 2.0 is the change in the borrowers’ credit preferences. The market is also backed by newer credit products offering faster and more flexible access to funds. All these factors primarily brought about the change in the scoring model and introduced CIBIL 2.0.
The lending institutions are gradually shifting to the new Transunion Cibil 2.0 Scoring model. You may find that your CIBIL score varies in both versions. The new score may be lower than the earlier score; however, it would not hamper your loan approval as different banks are using the different versions.
The most interesting point about CIBIL 2.0 score model is the fact that it has introduced a very new risk index for the first-time credit takers. While in the old CIBIL version, the score for all borrowers who had less than 6 months of credit history was a zero, in case of CIBIL 2.0, the rating of borrowers who have a credit history of less than six months happens on a different range altogether.
This new score model enables banks, NBFCs, and financial institutions to give loans to individuals with a better understanding of borrowers’ ability to give back the amount borrowed. It also encourages a uniform finance approach by giving credit to individuals having no history of credit, whatsoever.
1. The new method CIBIL 2.0 TransUnion Scoring Model is designed to match with present borrowing and credit trends. The new scoring model has also been launched with a new risk index chart that can be used to rate the borrowers who have a credit history of lower than a period of six months.
2. The new credit version will rate all the first time borrowers with a maximum of six months of credit history on the scale of 1 to 5 risk index. This in turn will help lenders identify borrowers as high risk (if they belong to score of 1 and 2) and very low risk (if their new score is in between 3 to 5).
3. A number of -1 or nomenclature of NA or NH will be given to the borrowers with no history of credit and also in case of those whose history has not been shared with CIBIL in the past 24 months.
4. For the borrowers who have a history of credit which goes more than six months in all, the score of 2.0 would continue to offer value in CIBIL score range of 300 and 900. Now, the closer the score is to 900, the lesser would be the risk for the lender in offering them a loan.
Score/Index | Interpreting Credit Rating |
NA/ NH | · No credit history · CIBIL has no credit information about the individual · Inquiries may or may not exist; banks never sanctioned loans · No credit information in the last 24 months |
1-5 | · Credit history is lesser than 6 months old. · 5 is the highest score on the index, while 1 is the lowest score. |
300-900 | · Credit history is more than 6 months. · The credit information is reported within the last 2 years · 900 is the highest score and thus entail the lowest risk & vice versa |
There are multiple ways you can use to Improve Your CIBIL Score. Some of the time tested methods for the same include, making payments on time, having the credit cards limited to only two and not more, and making debt payments at the earliest.
The sooner you make the credit repayments, you better your chances to keep the credit score up.
Also Read: How to Attain a Good CIBIL Score Always?