HomeCirculars › RBI/2021-22/111

Mandatory Reporting of Relationship Segment Data to CICs

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2021-22/111 · issued 14 Oct 2021 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI has made reporting of Relationship Segment (RS) data to Credit Information Companies mandatory for all lenders, with staggered timelines starting from new accounts opened after July 1, 2022. This aims to improve cross-linkages across Consumer, Commercial, and MFI bureaus.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

A credit & lending officer in Indore must ensure that the Relationship Segment data for a new loan account opened by a local businessman is reported to the Credit Information Company by July 1, 2022. This includes capturing information on the businessman's directors, shareholders, and group companies to enhance credit risk assessment.

What changed

Previously, reporting of Relationship Segment (RS) details in the Commercial Bureau format was not mandatory, leading to low data levels. Now, RBI has mandated that all Credit Institutions must report RS data to Credit Information Companies, with a phased timeline for legacy accounts.

What it means for you

Banks and lenders must now capture and report relationship fields like directors, shareholders, and group companies for commercial borrowers. This will enhance credit risk assessment by revealing cross-linkages across different borrower modules, potentially impacting loan underwriting and monitoring.

What you must do

Who it affects

All Commercial Banks including Small Finance Banks, Local Area Banks, RRBs, All Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks/State Co-operative Banks/District Central Co-operative Banks, All-India Financial Institutions (Exim Bank, NABARD, NHB, SIDBI), All Non-Banking Financial Companies including Housing Finance Companies, All Credit Information Companies

❓ Common questions

What is the Relationship Segment (RS) data?

RS data includes information on business category and type of relationship for corporates, such as details of directors, shareholders, proprietors, partners, trustees, holding companies, subsidiary companies, and associated companies related to the borrower.

When does the mandatory reporting start for new accounts?

Mandatory reporting of RS data is required for all new loan accounts opened after July 1, 2022.

What are the deadlines for updating legacy account data?

Accounts opened between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 must be updated by January 1, 2023. Accounts opened between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021 must be updated by July 1, 2023. Timelines for older legacy data will be announced later.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2021-22/111 DoR.FIN.REC.59/20.16.056/2021-22 October 14, 2021 All Commercial Banks (including Small Finance Banks, Local Area Banks and Regional Rural Banks) All Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks/State Co-operative Banks/ District Central Co-operative Banks All-India Financial Institutions (Exim Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI) All Non-Banking Financial Companies (including Housing Finance Companies) All Credit Information Companies Madam/Dear Sir, Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to Credit Information Companies Please refer to our circular DBOD.No.CID.BC.127/20.16.056/2013-14 dated June 27, 2014 , inter alia setting out a Uniform Credit Reporting Format for reporting credit information to the Credit Information Companies (CICs). The Uniform Credit Reporting Format has two Annexes, Annex-I contains two formats for credit reporting, viz., Consumer Bureau and Commercial Bureau, whereas Annex-II contains credit reporting format for Micro Finance Institution (MFI) segment. 2. The Relationship Segment (RS) in the Commercial Bureau format inter alia captures information on relationship fields of the corporates, viz., business category and type of relationship (i.e. contains information on directors, shareholders, proprietors, partners, trustees, holding companies, subsidiary companies and associated companies related to the borrower). It is observed that there is a low level of RS details in the databases of CICs. 3. The RS details are very important in establishing cross-linkages across the three modules, viz., Consumer, Commercial and MFI Bureaus, while providing comprehensive credit information of a borrower to Credit Institutions (CIs) by CICs. Accordingly, it has now been decided that the reporting of RS data by CIs to CICs would henceforth be mandatory. In order to ensure implementation in a non-disruptive manner, the reporting requirement may be staggered in the manner indicated below. (i) The reporting would be mandatory in respect of new loan accounts opened after July 1, 2022. (ii) A phased approach shall be followed for reporting of legacy data as detailed below: The accounts opened during the period (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022) have to be updated by January 1, 2023. The accounts opened in past three years (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021) have to be updated by July 1, 2023. A timeline for reporting of the remainder legacy data would be reviewed by the Technical Working Group and the CIs would be advised in due course. 4. The CIs are advised to commence reporting the aforesaid information as per the prescribed timelines to CICs. Yours faithfully (Sunil T S Nair) Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2021-22/111 · issued 14 Oct 2021. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
🧰 Tools — save, print, templates & related
Who does what — compliance checklist
💻 IT / Systems
  • Ensure systems capture RS data for all new loan accounts opened after July 1, 2022, and report it to CICs.
📜 Compliance
  • Update RS data for accounts opened between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 by January 1, 2023.
  • Update RS data for accounts opened between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021 by July 1, 2023.
  • Prepare for future timelines for remaining legacy data as advised by the Technical Working Group.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are an IT/Systems lead at a bank this circular applies to (All Commercial Banks including Small Finance Banks, Local Area Banks, RRBs, All Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks/State Co-operative Banks/District Central Co-operative Banks, All-India Financial Institutions (Exim Bank, NABARD, NHB, SIDBI), All Non-Banking Financial Companies including Housing Finance Companies, All Credit Information Companies), your first concrete step on “Mandatory Reporting of Relationship Segment Data to CICs” is: “Ensure systems capture RS data for all new loan accounts opened after July 1, 2022, and report it to CICs.” (RBI issued this 14 Oct 2021).

  1. Circular: RBI/2021-22/111 -- Mandatory Reporting of Relationship Segment Data to CICs
  2. Issued: 14 Oct 2021
  3. Action required: Ensure systems capture RS data for all new loan accounts opened after July 1, 2022, and report it to CICs.
  4. Action required: Update RS data for accounts opened between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 by January 1, 2023.
  5. Action required: Update RS data for accounts opened between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021 by July 1, 2023.
  6. Action required: Prepare for future timelines for remaining legacy data as advised by the Technical Working Group.
  7. Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
  8. Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
  9. Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.

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BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly).
Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12178&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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