The two inevitable C’s of credit – Character and Capacity. Do you have it in you?

Being credit healthy is the state of being in the pink of health – not your physical or mental health but your credit health. While measuring your credit score is a complex process as a lot of qualitative and quantitative factors come into play, there are also a lot of C’s that also plays an important role while presenting your credit report card. These five crucial C’s are – Character, Capital, Capacity, Collateral and Conditions. Of these, the first two are of high significance. Credit bureaus are bang on when it comes to collating your credit scores depending on these C’s alone.

Let us turn our focus to the two main qualitative prospects – Character and Capacity:

Character:

Character specifically refers to the reputation of the individual in accordance to his previous records while dealing with financial institutions. The credit history will divulge enough information that will indicate whether the individual is responsible is dealing with his finances or not. Instances of regular repayment of loans, credit cards and other bills indicate that the person is responsible with his money and understands the importance of timely repayment. Hence, he can come out as an honest and reliable person to repay a debt.

On the other hand, if he lapses on paying his EMIs or is sporadic on paying his bills or is on the verge of bankruptcy, he is definitely tagged as irresponsible in his credit report. Such a person has a very high chance of missing out on the benefits of a good credit score like lower interest rates on loans, easier and faster approval on loans and credit cards, telephone connection, job prospects, insurance premia, rentals and a lot more. Therefore, you can see that the credit score is surely influenced by debt collection, bankruptcies, a high debt-to-income ratio, foreclosures and tax liens.

Capacity:

The second important factor is capacity of the individual. Capacity measures a borrower's ability to repay a loan by comparing income against recurring debts. In simple terms, the lender will want to know if you have valuable assets such as real estate, personal property, investments, or savings with which to repay the debt if income is becoming inadequate. This is because a large contribution by the borrower will reduce the chance of defaulting. Lenders look at the potential options that can be seized or taken away in case the borrower is not able to repay the loan. However, collecting of these assets is the last resort taken up by the lender.

Now that you are aware of the two main criteria, let us quickly run through the other three - Capacity, Collateral and Conditions. Capacity refers to the individual’s ability to repay the debt and the lender will examine his/ hers current salary, living expenses, current debts and any dependents that the person might have. Collateral, on the other hand, is the asset that the borrower uses as a security for his the loan that he is applying for like property or a house. In case the borrower is unable to repay the loan, the lender can liquidate the collateral to pay off the remaining balance. Condition broadly means the present economic situation and how it is going to affect the borrower’s source of income.

As you have become aware of the qualitative aspect of the way your credit is calculated, you can find out how this impacts on the quantitative side of it. Credit score is a numerical expression based on points system ranging from 300 to 900 points. If you manage to score between 700 to 900 points then it is a high scoring credit report. But how to get hold of your report card so that you know where you stand? Simple. Just browse the net for www.cibil.com. Cibil is one of the leading credit bureaus in India. Create a Cibil consumer login, after that fill in the details, make an online payment for Rs. 470 and you have your Cibil report online in your email address. This Cibil score will help you know about all you need to know regarding your credit health.

And if you find that you are lacking somehow and your Cibil score is not up to the mark, just avail the services of a reliable credit improvement company. Credit Sudhaar is one such company that will never disappoint you with their valuable guidance. If you follow their simple yet astute approach, you will see that within no time your credit score has crossed the coveted 700 points mark. Isn’t that a wonderful feeling – to be a credit healthy person?