Setting Up Credit Bureau Reporting

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Step 1: Credit Bureau Questionnaire
When setting up credit bureau reporting for the first time, your credit union must complete a Credit Bureau questionnaire with the different loan types, account types, and account indicators. After we receive the questionnaire, Portico Customer Service and Portico Level II will spend the next 30 days setting up credit bureau reporting for your credit union.

Step 2: Portico Services Setup
When the questionnaire is received, Portico Customer Service will set up the 350 Report and the processing rules.

  • The Credit Bureau Transmission Report 350 contains the loan information that Portico sends to the specified credit bureau (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian or Innovis). The ECOA Code field indicates how loans and borrowers are reported to the credit bureau. The 350 Report Rules let you specify the credit bureaus that will receive the transmission, the selection criteria and the information reported. To produce the credit bureau transmission, the 350 Report should be scheduled for month-end. Portico uses the Metro II format to send information to the credit bureau.
  • To send loan information to a credit bureau, Portico Customer Service will select the Credit Bureau Extract check box on the Credit Union Profile - Loans tab (Portico Host: 905 Transaction - CREDIT BU field).
  • To send delinquency history to the credit bureau, Portico Customer Service will select the Online History check box in the Delinquency Options section on the Credit Union Profile - Loans tab (Portico Host: 902 Transaction - O/L HISTRY field).
  • To categorize the loan information using the credit bureau-defined codes, Portico Customer Service will update the Indicator and Credit Bureau Default Rpt Code fields on the Loan Profiles - Account Information tab (Portico Host: 961 Transaction - ACCT IND and ACCT TYP fields) for each loan type specified on the questionnaire.

Step 3: Portico Level II Setup
The Portico Customer Service representative assigned to the project will contact a Portico Level II representative. For an additional fee, the Portico Level II representative will schedule a transaction processor or handy to change the ECOA Code and Account Indicator fields on the Loans - Credit Bureau tab for each existing loan according to the new settings on the loan type’s Loan Profiles - Account Information tab. Your credit union can choose to manually update the Loans - Credit Bureau tab to avoid the additional charge. Once the 350 Report and Loan Profiles - Account Information tab are set up, all new loans will have the correct credit bureau settings on the Loans - Credit Bureau tab.

Step 4: Credit Union Setup
After Portico Customer Service updates the Loans - Credit Bureau tab with the new processing rule settings, your credit union must change the ECOA Code field on the Loans - Credit Bureau tab for any existing loans with a joint owner or co-maker. You must also complete the Borrowers dialog box before the end of the month.

Any co-borrower that you intend to report to the credit bureau should be added to the Loans – Borrowers/References tab first. Co-borrowers that you do not intend to report should be at the end of the list.

In addition, you must maintain any other fields on the Loans - Credit Bureau tab, if necessary.

Step 5: Contact Credit Bureau
Portico Services will send a fax to the credit bureau(s) your credit union selected notifying them that your credit union will be included on the next tape. Your credit union also must contact the credit bureau(s) to ensure that everything is setup correctly.

Adding a Credit Bureau to Existing Reporting
Once your credit union is setup for credit bureau reporting, you can add a credit bureau by contacting Portico Customer Service. Portico Customer Service will update the 350 Report Rules and send the fax to the credit bureau.