”, mentions that there is a strong linkage between depth of credit information index and credit penetration. credit information index is influenced by the institutional mechanisms in an economy for gathering and disseminating credit information. public registries and credit bureaus play a very important role in boosting the information infrastructure. key developed economies like the us and uk demonstrate a strong and mature credit bureau environment. in developing economies, lending, especially to retail, is, in a large measure, made possible by credit bureaus, which perform the vital task of collating and distributing reliable credit information to the underwriter. as you all know, reports from the bureau contain information about the payment behaviour of consumers and commercial entities, including data on timely fulfilment or delinquency behaviour pertaining to financial obligations. let me emphasize that credit bureaus can serve at a micro as well as at a macro level. while at a micro level they help credit underwriters make an informed decision about a credit applicant, on a macro level, they assist the senior management understand the broad credit market tendencies and also help the banks benchmark their performance against the industry on various dimensions such as sourcing, portfolio quality, delinquency, etc. at the level of a regulator, bureaus can play a pivotal role in providing insights that can drive effective policy changes. they can also provide important inputs for the banking supervisors in monitoring systemic risks. a further bis central bankers ’ speeches use of the bureau at a regulatory level may be to analyze appropriate capital and provisioning strategies for banks and, in particular, to assess whether current capital and provisioning regulations match up to actual risks. at the level of the society, as i mentioned a little while ago, the cics have to work towards making individuals and financial entities credit information literate. this would involve generating awareness about the importance of credit history and the need for maintaining a healthy credit record. credit bureaus also provide other benefits for both borrowers and lenders. for example, if borrowers know that lenders have access to their credit histories, they would have a greater incentive to repay loans to maintain access to credit in the future. a 2010 world bank study indicates that half of all customers would be more likely to pay their bills on time if they knew that those payments were reported to credit bureaus. further, borrowers who have established a good credit record with a credit bureau may gain bargaining power for the terms of credit. information sharing between lenders reveals borrow

also been tried with much success. in partnership with banks and ngos, centres for financial literacy are being established at grassroot levels to boost community driven financial literacy. last month, rbi organised a'financial literacy week'on the theme " make a right start – become financially smart'targeted towards young adults, mainly students. the idea was to increase awareness on the advantages of inculcating financial discipline from an early age with inputs on saving, budgeting, power of compounding, banking essentials and cyber hygiene. 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches as we focus on safeguarding the young, let us not forget the vulnerability of our senior citizens to financial frauds and cybercrime. it is incumbent upon us to extend our efforts to ensure their financial security and well - being as well. in conclusion, it is imperative that we remain vigilant and proactive in addressing the emerging risks and challenges. by implementing robust regulatory frameworks, enhancing cybersecurity measures, and promoting consumer awareness and financial literacy, we can mitigate the risks associated with digitalization and protect consumers from exploitation and fraud. thank you for this opportunity, and i wish you fruitful discussions at the global money week. 1 please refer master direction on digital payment security controls available at https : / / rbi. org. in / scripts / notificationuser. aspx? mode = 0 & id = 12032 2 please refer to rbi circular dated july 6, 2017 on customer protection – limiting liability of customers in unauthorised electronic banking transactions available at https : / / rbi. org. in / scripts / notificationuser. aspx? id = 11040 & mode = 0 3 rbi'guidelines on digital lending'issued on september 2, 2022, available at https : / / rbi. org. in / scripts / notificationuser. aspx? id = 12382 & mode = 0 4 https : / / cybercrime. gov. in / 5 https : / / www. rbi. org. in / financialeducation / 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches