Find out, step by step, how to obtain the Credit Liabilities Map from the Bank of Portugal's online platform.
What is the Liabilities Map?
The map of credit liabilities is the document that the BdP issues with all the credit liabilities over €50 that a consumer has with the various credit institutions. The information on the map is the responsibility of the reporting entities; the BdP only manages and centralizes the information.
Credit institutions report the credit liabilities of all consumers and their situation on the last day of each month and, around the 20th of the following month, the BdP makes the information available and it is possible to issue the map of credit liabilities.
This is one of the documents you need (along with your most recent tax return) to start your process, whether it's a home loan, consolidated credit, etc.
What is the liability map for?
The main objective is to allow credit institutions to consult all the credit information of each consumer, enabling a better risk assessment when they are asked for credit. By consulting the CRC, credit institutions can see which credit liabilities the consumer has, whether they are all in order or whether any have already defaulted, and whether the consumer is already very exposed to credit. It also makes it possible to calculate the consumer's effort rate.
If there is a default or a high effort rate, new credit applications should not be approved, as well as if the consumer already has a high exposure to credit. For example, having a lot of credit cards (even if they are unused and you only have them to get discounts on their brands) can prevent a mortgage loan from being approved.
To obtain this document, it's simple:
- Go to the Banco de Portugal website;
- In the top bar, on the left, choose "Individuals"
- Choose "Central Credit Register"
- Read and accept the conditions;
- Choose a date (month and year) to consult your credits;
- Authenticate yourself with your citizen's card or with your data from the Finance Portal;
- The download of your Credit Register will start automatically;
- To view it, simply click to open the file.
To speed up the process and guarantee a quicker response, have your IRS tax return and Credit Liabilities Map ready to attach to your application for a home loan, consolidated loan, personal loan or loan renegotiation.
Source: Doutor Finanças