What the twelve numbers are
Bank Negara's explanatory notes call the column instalment in arrears for the last 12 months. Older material calls it conduct of account. Each number is how many instalments the borrower was behind in that month. A 0 means no arrears, a 1 means one instalment in arrears, a 2 means two, and so on.
The numbers run from the newest month on the left back through the 12 months the report covers. The header shows the months, newest first: single letters on a CTOS report, and names such as Nov, Oct, Sep on Bank Negara's own sample. Check which month comes first on the copy you hold. CTOS prints the same grid on its own report, as part of its CCRIS section.
Credit card
A clean year
000000000000Car loan
One late month, then caught up
000000010000Personal loan
Falling further behind, newest months worst
321000000000New loan, opened in June
Blank before it existed
0000
- no arrears
- one instalment in arrears
- two or more
- blank, not reported
Reading it row by row
Look at the shape before the size. Here is how to read the four rows in the picture above, the way you would read them aloud to a customer.
- Credit card, all zeros. Nothing to explain. Move on.
- Car loan, a single 1 in February. One instalment was missed and then caught up. Ask what happened and keep the bank statement that shows it was paid. A 1 from February is easy to explain, and the same 1 last month is harder.
- Personal loan, 3 then 2 then 1 in the newest months. Read from the left: the newest month is the worst. The customer is three instalments behind and the gap is widening. They need a conversation with the lender before any new application.
- New loan, zeros then blanks. The blanks are the months before the loan was opened in June. That is normal and not a problem.
The shapes below turn up again and again.
| What you see | What it usually means | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| All zeros | A clean year on that facility. | Nothing. Move on to the next row. |
| One 1 among zeros, several months back | One late month that was caught up. | What happened, and is there proof it was paid in full? |
| Numbers that are biggest in the newest months, such as 3, 2, 1 read from the left | A loan sliding further behind. This is the shape most likely to worry a lender. | Is the customer in contact with the lender, and is a plan agreed? |
| Zeros in the newest months, with bigger numbers further along the row | The account was brought up to date. The earlier months stay for 12 months. | Nothing to fix, but expect questions about the earlier months. |
| Zeros on the left, then blanks further along the row | A newer facility that has not been open for 12 months. | When did it open? |
| A blank in the middle of a long account | The lender did not report that month. | Ask the lender, because a gap can be an error. |
What an instalment in arrears means for each facility
The number counts different things on different facilities. Bank Negara's 2002 explanatory notes give the rule for each. These rules are probably unchanged, but the current notes do not repeat them.
- Term loans and housing loans: the number of instalments in default.
- Overdrafts: the number of months the balance was above the approved limit.
- Trade bills and bankers' acceptances: the number of bills that are overdue.
- Revolving credit: the number of revolving credits that are overdue.
Even the 2002 notes do not say how a credit card's minimum payment is counted. Ask the bank if a card shows a number above zero, and do not assume a 1 means the same as it does on a car loan. Nor does the grid count days. When an instalment becomes overdue is the lender's own rule.
Why catching up does not wipe the row
Bank Negara says that when a customer settles arrears, the account shows as regularised in the month of settlement, but the arrears count for the earlier months stays in the report. The grid is a factual 12-month record, not a balance. Only a wrong entry can be corrected, and only the lender that reported it can do that.
The grid also keeps moving. Each month's figure is added when the lender next reports, which Bank Negara says is by the 10th of the following month. A payment made on the 25th should show by the 10th of the following month, so a report pulled before then will not have it.
What a loan agent should do with it
Mark every row that has a number above zero and ask the customer about it before the bank does. Be ready to say what happened, whether the arrears were paid in full and when. Keep the bank statement or receipt that shows it.
The CTOS analyzer on our homepage flags any facility with an arrears number above zero when it reads a CTOS report, which saves you scanning twelve columns by eye. It does not read the grid on eCCRIS or Experian PDFs yet, so check those by eye. It is a prompt to ask a question, not a verdict.
If the grid is wrong
Find the facility and the lender
The lender is printed beside each row. Only that lender can correct the figures.
Gather proof
A bank statement, a receipt or a letter from the lender showing the payment was made or the account was regularised.
Raise it with the lender
Contact the lender's complaints unit. Bank Negara says a lender can take up to 14 working days to reply, and its FAQ says the eCCRIS route for sending account disputes to lenders was temporarily unavailable, so go to the lender directly.
Wait for the next update
Once the lender corrects the data and resubmits it, the change appears in the next monthly update.
Escalate if needed
If the lender does not resolve it, Bank Negara's contact centre, BNMTELELINK, takes complaints on 1-300-88-5465.
Questions people ask next
- Does a 1 mean 30 days late?
- Not necessarily. Bank Negara's notes count instalments in arrears, not days. When the lender treats an instalment as overdue is the lender's own rule, so ask the lender if the exact timing matters.
- Can I remove a late month by paying the arrears?
- No. Bank Negara says the account will show as regularised, but the arrears count for the earlier months stays in the 12-month record.
- How long does a late payment show up?
- In CCRIS, for the 12 months the grid covers. A bureau report has its own rules. The Credit Reporting Agencies Act stops a bureau reporting a default two years after final settlement.
Sources
- Bank Negara Malaysia: explanatory notes for the credit report
- Bank Negara Malaysia: explanatory notes to customer credit reports, 2002 (blank, zero and per-facility counting; a copy on a third-party site, not a current bnm.gov.my page)
- Bank Negara Malaysia: CCRIS FAQ (arrears after settlement, update dates, 14 working days for lender replies)
- Bank Negara Malaysia: eCCRIS user guide and FAQ (data verification steps)
- CTOS: how to fix wrong information in your credit report
- CTOS: summary of rights under the Credit Reporting Agencies Act 2010
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and bank policies change, so check the current position with the bank, the regulator or a professional before you act.