Guide to Exchange of Credit Information

Trade creditors are frequently asked to provide credit references or credit ratings on their customers. It is important that this task be performed properly. Doing so protects the customer as well as the creditor. The following are important guidelines for the exchange of credit information:

1. Offer only historical facts about your own experience with a customer.

2. Never report or discuss your future intentions or ask for the future intentions of another creditor.

3. Never give advice about a customer or ask for the advice of another creditor.

4. Never give your own opinion about a customer or ask for the opinion of another creditor.

5. Never discuss or ask other creditors to discuss their terms of sale or specific company policies.

6. Never reveal the source or content of credit information to any customer.

7. Never reveal information obtained from another creditor to anyone outside your own credit department.

8. Information shared in Industry Credit Group meetings is privileged and must never be used for sales leads.

9. Members of the lending industry must understand that Regulation B does not exempt them from compliance with the requirement to keep the source of information confidential. Answers to requests from customers for reasons why credit has been limited or denied must never include the source of the information used to reach a decision, or enable the customer to identity a specific creditor as the source of the information.

10. These guidelines are for the protection of all creditors and should be adhered to at all times.

Source: National Association of Credit Management of South Texas, Inc.