SEC plans unified lending identification system to improve credit access, stop lending abuses

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking to introduce a unified lending identification (ULI) system to make it easier for borrowers to access credit and to prevent predatory lending and abusive debt collection practices.

- By Alexandria Grace C. Magno

“Since our national ID system is still not reliable, we intend to introduce the ULI to provide easy access to credit facilities through authenticated data,” SEC Commissioner Rogelio V. Quevedo said during a Senate committee hearing on Monday.

From January to Sept. 15, the SEC handled 5,415 public complaints involving financing and lending companies and their online platforms, he noted.

“Of this total, 3,570 complaints, or 66%, involve unfair debt collection practices or collection harassment. Among these, 3,315 complaints were filed against unregistered financing companies, lending companies, and online lending platforms (OLPs), while 435 complaints targeted unregistered entities and/or unrecorded OLPs,” he added.

He said unregistered online platforms are among the key concerns that should be addressed by law enforcement agencies.

“Actually, we want to report that the problem is the unrecorded, unregistered online platforms. These are the people, the institutions, that are the subject of complaints. These are the lending companies that are not registered with the SEC,” he said.