Section 52: Establishment of Credit Information Bureau

52. Establishment of Credit Information Bureau (1) Notwithstanding section 51A (4) or any other enactment, the Bank may, for the purpose of ensuring the operation of a sound credit information system in, and maintaining the stability and soundness of the financial system of, Mauritius, establish a Credit Information Bureau and require, on such terms and conditions as it may determine, any institution offering credit, including leasing facilities and hire purchase or utility body, to furnish at such time and in such manner such credit information or such other information as it may require for the purpose of— (a) maintaining a database on recipients of credit facilities and guarantors and such other information as may reasonably assist in ensuring the soundness of the credit information system; (b) collecting, consolidating and collating trade, credit and financial information on recipients of credit facilities, whether fund based or non-fund based; (c) storing the information so collected; (d) disclosing, or allowing access, to such institutions as it may approve, the information so collected, subject to such conditions as it may determine; and (e) assisting the Bank in the discharge of its functions under section 5 (1) (1A) Any institution offering credit, including leasing facilities and hire purchase, or any utility body may be required by the Bank to become a participating institution of the Credit Information Bureau. (1B) Notwithstanding section 26, the Bank shall participate in the Credit Information Bureau and furnish to it, at such time and in such manner as the B2 – 27 [Issue 9] Bank of Mauritius Act Credit Information Bureau may require such credit information on credit facilities granted to members of the staff of the Bank. (2) Subject to subsection (2A), the credit information so collected shall be used for the purpose of meeting the objectives of the Credit Information Bureau and shall be kept confidential between the Bank and participating institutions. (2A) The Bank may impart, on such terms and conditions as it may determine, information maintained in the Credit Information Bureau to— (a) such bodies as it considers appropriate for credit rating purposes; (b) any public sector agency or law enforcement agency to enable the agency to discharge, or assist it in discharging, any of its functions; or (c) such institutions and for such purpose as it may determine, where the person from whom the information is being sought has given his written consent for the information to be disclosed to the institution. (2B) Any duty of confidentiality which may have been imposed on any participating institution under any enactment shall not apply where the information is required for transmission to and meeting the purposes of the Credit Information Bureau. (2C) A utility body may, for the purposes of providing credit information to the Credit Information Bureau, require any of its customers to provide it with the necessary identification details. (3) Any participating institution processing an application for credit facilities shall have recourse to the information from the Credit Information Bureau for this purpose and shall inform the customer that all available information will be used for the processing of the application. (4) Where the applicant for credit facilities is not satisfied with the credit information obtained from the Credit Information Bureau for that purpose, he may consult the Credit Information Bureau and the Credit I (3) Any participating institution processing an application for credit facilities shall have recourse to the information from the Credit Information Bureau for this purpose and shall inform the customer that all available information will be used for the processing of the application. (4) Where the applicant for credit facilities is not satisfied with the credit information obtained from the Credit Information Bureau for that purpose, he may consult the Credit Information Bureau and the Credit Information Bureau shall inform him of the manner in which his total credit exposure was arrived at. (5) Where it appears to the Bank that any participating institution has refrained from complying, or negligently failed to comply, with any requirement imposed under this section, the Bank may— (a) by directive, require the participating institution to remedy the situation; (b) impose such penalty or charge not exceeding 50,000 rupees for each day on which such breach occurs and such penalty may be recovered by deduction from any balance of or money owing to the Bank, as if it were a civil debt; or [Issue 9] B2 – 28 Revised Laws of Mauritius (c) in the absence of any reasonable excuse, proceed against it under section 11 or 17 of the Banking Act on the ground that it is carrying on business in a manner which is contrary to the interests of the public or refer the matter to the relevant supervisory authority for action as appropriate. (5A) Subsection 5 (a) and (b) shall apply to an institution or utility body which fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (1A) as they would apply to a participating institution. (6) Neither the Bank nor any participating institution shall be liable to any prosecution, action or suit in respect of any matter or thing done by them in the discharge, in good faith, of their functions under this section. (7) In this section— “utility body”— (a) means a body corporate which supplies utility services to consumers; and (b) includes— (i) the Central Electricity Board established under the Central Electricity Board Act; (ii) the Central Water Authority established under the Central Water Authority Act; (iii) the Waste Water Management Authority established under the Waste Water Management Authority Act; (iv) a licensee under the Information and Communication Technologies Act; and (v) such other body as may by Order be designated by the Bank. [S. 52 amended by s. 3 (c) of Act 18 of 2008 w.e.f. 19 July 2008; s. 4 (a) of Act 14 of 2009 w.e.f. 30 July 2009; s. 3 (b) of Act 20 of 2011 w.e.f. 16 July 2011; s. 2 (c) of Act 27 of 2012 w.e.f. 22 December 2012; s. 2 (h) of Act 27 of 2013 w.e.f. 21 December 2013; s. 2 (i) of Act 18 of 2016 w.e.f. 7 September 2016.]