The State Bank of Vietnam ('SBV') requested, on 17 January 2023, public comments on the draft Circular regulating credit information activities of the State Bank No: 2023/TT-NHNN. In particular, the draft Circular highlights that credit institutions, voluntary organisations, and other organisations provided with credit information must:

• protect against the unauthorised loss, access to, use of, or disclosure of credit information;
• establish solutions to recover data in case data is damaged and plans to restore operations after data is damaged; and
• ensure the safety and confidentiality of credit information in accordance with other provisions within the draft Circular.

In addition, the draft Circular notes credit institutions must provide the Vietnam National Credit Information Centre ('CIC') with information including identification information about the borrower, other financial information such as information about collateral and credit extensions, and off balance-sheet information. Further, the draft Circular provides that negative information on borrowers must only be retained for a maximum period of five years from the date of termination of such negative information, and voluntary organisations must only provide credit information services corresponding to the scope of providing information to the CIC.

Finally, the draft Circular specifies that in cases of erroneous data, credit institutions or voluntary organisations must re-send the credit information data to the CIC, and customers may file a complaint with organisations, requesting the correction of credit information if it is incorrect, providing documents and grounds to prove the data contains errors.

Notably, the draft Circular would replace Circular No. 03/2013/TT-NHNN of 28 January 2013 of the State Bank of Vietnam on credit information activities of the State Bank.

Public comments may be submitted to [email protected].

You can read the announcement here and the draft Circular here, both only available in Vietnamese.