Employees are the backbone of every company, and we can all agree that hiring the right group of employees is crucial to the growth and productivity of a business. Moreover, bad hiring decisions may potentially lead to more frequent follow-ups or even disciplinary action that might reduce efficiency and productivity.
Importance of credit reputation for jobseekers
We all know that we have to prepare a good resume and perfect our job interview skills to land our dream jobs, but few are aware that employers also check your credit report during pre-employment screening. Credit Bureau Singapore provides employers with reliable credit screening tools to make well-informed hiring decisions. This is especially relevant for banks and financial institutions as they are closely regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Under MAS’s Guidelines on Fit and Proper Criteria, be it an institution, exempt financial institution, exempt entity or a fund management company, they are obligated to do employment checks including credit checks on pre-hires, to evaluate their overall credit health and financial stability.
Like a report card, employers use your credit report during pre-employment screening to assess your financial history, ascertain if you are financially stable, and look out for any potential red flags before confirming that you are the right person for the job. Through one’s credit reports, employers will be able to filter out any adverse payment history, recent law litigations or bankruptcy records. A poor credit report serves as an indicator that the candidate might be financially irresponsible, and is an early warning that stops companies from hiring employees who could seriously damage the company’s reputation in the future.
What do employers look out for?
Here are some common indicators that employers will look out for in your credit report:
Non-scored or public records. Employers will look out for public records such as past and/or existing writ of summons, and bankruptcy records filed against you. Such information is retained in the credit report for five years from the date of discharge from bankruptcy.
Bureau Score. The Bureau Score is calculated based on information in your current available credit data and is a fluid number, which may change from time to time along with changes in your credit information. Lenders will also assess the Risk Grade and Probability of Default to determine if you are a high-risk borrower.
Account Status History. Lenders will be able to use this information to assess your repayment behaviour for the past 12 months. This information is displayed on a rolling 12 months basis (with the most current cycle on the left) while closed accounts will have the last 12 months’ payment status history as at the date of closure displayed for three years.
You can find out more about a sample credit report here.
Credit monitoring service
You can also subscribe to a credit monitoring service like My Credit Monitor (MCM). It is a subscription service tool that helps consumers to keep an eye on their credit reports over a period of six or 12 months. It also helps to fight against identity theft by detecting any suspicious activities or changes that can affect the consumer’s credit reputation. MCM sends the earliest possible notifications for any predetermined activities on the consumer’s credit report via SMS or email.
To find out more about your credit report, contact Credit Bureau Singapore at 6565 6363, or email consumer_services@creditbureau.com.sg.
This article is contributed by Credit Bureau Singapore.
