The Central Personal Credit Center is a state body which is part of the National Bank of Belgium. As soon as you take out a consumer loan or a mortgage loan, you will be concerned by the role of the Central Personal Credit Office. Let’s take stock of this institution that everyone talks about but that very few really know in practice.
What is the Personal Credit Center?
The Centrale is, above all, a tool to combat over-indebtedness. It records all consumer credits and all mortgage loans which are signed by individuals as well as all payment defaults (better known as “filing”). These are loans only taken out for private purposes and therefore it does not list contracts for commercial or professional purposes. It must be consulted by credit professionals before granting a loan.
So, in practice, lenders must inform the Centrale of your identity and the credit contract as soon as it is signed. Likewise, in the event of non-payment and termination of credit, lenders must inform the Centrale which then carries out the filing.
The Missions of the Personal Credit Center
The Centrale’s essential mission is to record and make available to lenders information aimed at strengthening the means of prevention in the fight against over-indebtedness of private individuals and individuals. The recorded data is communicated by banks, insurance companies and financing companies.
What information is communicated?
The information communicated concerns all consumer credit contracts and mortgage loans concluded by persons for private purposes as well as all payment defaults.
Last recorded data
You will find the latest credit data recorded at the Personal Credit Center.
The Centrale therefore contains data on 6,236,412 people and 11,437,787 credit contracts, a slight increase compared to 2011. In 2012, 1,424,406 new credit contracts were registered, a decrease of two thirds compared to 2011. The origin of this decline lies in credit openings, of which 522,277 contracts were recorded in 2012 compared to 3.2 million the previous year. The sharp increase in 2011 was the consequence of the obligation to communicate overdraft facilities on current accounts.
In 2012, the Centrale also recorded 20% fewer new mortgage loans. This trend can undoubtedly be explained by the elimination, at the end of 2011, of state aid in favor of energy-saving investments. But with 321,261 new contracts, the 2012 level is nevertheless almost 20% above the annual average over the period 2007-2009.
The number of new loans and installment sales is down by 9% and 25% respectively. The economic crisis certainly contributes to this decrease, but for installment sales, it marks a strengthening of the annual trend that began in 2006.
Final word on the registration
After two unpaid installments, the lending organization is obliged to cancel your credit contract and proceed with your filing. Once registered, you will remain registered until you have closed the credit contract and even once your credit has been repaid, you will remain registered for 12 months. There is therefore no question of obtaining a credit during this period unless you are the owner of a property free of charge (Owner’s credit).
